


feeling things i've never felt

by ofcomputernerdsandsoufflegirls



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Based on 너도 인간이니?, Bisexual Keith, Drama, F/M, Fluff, I guess???, Insecure Lance, Langst, M/M, Mentions of Murder, Mind Control, Modern AU, Robot AU, Slow Burn, Technology, Uncle Coran, best sister ever veronica, innocent allura, maybe in the future?, mentions of James Griffin, mentions of attempted murder, robot Allura, supportive mom krolia, too many places, unknown time date
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-07-06 16:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 68,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15889671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofcomputernerdsandsoufflegirls/pseuds/ofcomputernerdsandsoufflegirls
Summary: He pulled her hand to his chest. “This is where my heart is.”“Your heartbeat is rising,” she noted, hand still on his chest. She gazed up at him to see he was face was flushing too, spreading from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.“That’s because…” he paused, looking away from her. Lance was showing an emotion that she didn’t know how to categorize. “It’s because my heart is beating for you.”She gazed at him, confusion spreading through her wires as she took in the new information Lance provided her. She understood its context but it baffled her.How could a human be in love with a robot with no emotions?——After Allura Altea fell into a coma, Keith Kogane, her head of security, enlists the help of Katie “Pidge” Holt and Hunk Garrett to create an AI of Allura. With their help, he plans to take down Galra Tech from the inside, discover its secrets and expose them. But what the three of them don’t expect is Allura’s new bodyguard, Lance Serrano, falling for the robot.Based on 'Are You Human Too?'/'너도 인간이니?'





	1. the longing dance

**Author's Note:**

> take a listen to the song here: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcL2y_IzK5s

_The Longing Dance_

 

_All the flowers are gone away_

_He has gone away again_

_Carrantuohill and cliffs of Moher_

_And last night he came to me_

_I'll sing with my love Gaelic_

_Playing Bodhran with the harp_

_And it flows from cliff to sea_

_Reflect back and sigh and sigh_

_Waves shining like a star_

_Dancing with silver coats_

_Waves shining like a star_

_Dancing with gold bells shoes_

_Waves shining like a star_

_But he has gone away again_

 

\---

 

3 Years Ago

  


_The room was slightly dark with machines whirring, buzzing with an intense energy that it never experienced before. The machines worked tirelessly and endlessly and were heating up quickly due to being run for so long. The only thing that was bright in the dark room was the computer a female worked at, lighting her and exposing the stress that completely enveloped her face. Many shadows fell over her face, highlighting the frames that rested upon her face as well as showing how tired she was._

 

_“C’mon, c’mon,” she muttered as she furiously typed on the keyboard, pressing each key a little harder than necessary. On the inside, she wanted to cry of desperation if it didn’t work. It had taken her months of work after seeing notes he had left behind in his room. If it didn’t work, all of their -_

 

_No, she thought. This has to work. It will work._

 

_She typed furiously once more, grinding her teeth in pure frustration. She was so close to finishing and making sure that their project came to life. Finally after minutes and hours of typing, she stopped and breathed heavily, staring at the bright screen in front of her. Sweat ran down her brow as she took a breath in, then a breath out. Worry, anxiety, and a pinch of denial filled her insides as she looked at the project in front of her._

 

_Was it actually complete?_

 

_Taking a tentative step around her computer and to what was in front of her, she paused. She didn’t know why she stopped. All she had to do was press the button on her computer. But deep down, she was afraid. What if this wasn’t anything like she envisioned? She dreaded the feeling of failure but she was also afraid of disappointing him. He was the one who drafted the ideas first. He was the smart and brilliant one. And he was her hero._

 

_There was no way that she wasn’t going to let him down._

 

_Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she pressed the button on the computer and walked over to her invention, standing right in front of it. Honestly the act was so simple, so ordinary, but for her, it would change everything. It would change everything she was feeling -_

 

_“Hello. I am an AI, Matt Holt 1,” a familiar voice rang out in front of her, breaking her out of her thoughts. The sound of his voice was soothing and comforting, making her tear up as she looked at the AI._

 

_There he was. Matt Holt 1, fully functional and a complete look alike of the brother she had lost just months earlier in a research accident. She had tried her best to make him look exactly how her brother looked, from his soft hair to even the mole that was on the side of his hip. She tried to put in that sweet, comforting smile that he had whenever he consoled her about failed projects or the random moments when he surprised her with cake. Looking at this robot was overwhelming; she was seeing a face that she hadn’t seen in months, making her heart hurt from the loss she experienced._

 

_“Matt,” she whispered, tears threatening to spill out. “I’ve missed you.” She knew that this Matt wouldn’t understand that reason why she missed him. He was practically only born today. But it still didn’t take away the fact that she missed her brother so much. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she stared at the AI in front of her, fogging her glasses in the process. She couldn’t help herself, the emotions were leaking out of her like a rainy day where the rain seemed to endlessly pour out of the sky._

 

_Then arms circled around her, embracing her smaller, sobbing frame. “Rule Number One,” Matt Holt 1 recited as he held her. “Always hug someone when they’re upset.”_

 

_That had been the rule Matt wanted to put in when she looked over his plans. He was into creating a robot that had the ability to comfort people, to check their health, and to figure out if they were lying. A health-care robot, he would always say. He wanted this robot to look like a human, to blend in with the rest of the population and to be able to save people at a moment’s notice. She had thought this idea was a little bogus at first, but who could believe that robots could save people? Every description of robots being able to save people ended up with robots trying to achieve power or take over the world._

 

_But now, looking back, she was grateful that he had drafted the ideas for this. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to build a robot that could comfort her over the loss of her brother._

 

_As she sniffled, she hugged the robot version of her brother and brought his robotic body closer, grateful that some part of her brother was in front of her._

 

\---

 

Present

 

“Pidge,” a male’s voice rang out, breaking her out of her well-needed sleep. “A male is knocking on the door.”

 

Oh she heard it alright. She had been covering her head with her pillow for the past ten minutes, hoping it was just one of those people who was trying to sell her something. But no, she was wrong. Whoever, this person was, they were very insistent on seeing her.

 

“Hrmphhh,” she groaned, smashing her face in the pillow and pulling the covers over her. “Can we just ignore them Shiro?”

 

“No Pidge,” the male’s voice said, devoid of emotion or even a hint of disapproval at her refusal to see this person. It was so unlike the Shiro she knew of. He would scold her for staying up so late and refusing to see people. It was like she had another older brother. But again, like Matt, she built him and her father out of pure sadness of missing both of them. Shiro was the only AI she had out now; every time she would see her brother and her father’s face, she would break out into tears, reminded at every moment that they weren’t the real Matt and Sam Holt. Shiro’s face was the only one that made her feel a little less sad.

 

“It’s rude to ignore people who want to see you,” Shiro 3 recited from a rule she implemented into him a few years after she made Matt.

 

“Ughhhh,” she groaned, flipping over the covers. “This male isn’t Hunk right?” Pidge was sort of hoping it was an error on Shiro 3’s part. Her partner, Hunk, had a tendency to forget the keys to her loft and ended up knocking on her door to get in, which Shiro 3 had to open for him.

 

“No. This male is thin, shorter than Hunk, and has black hair. He also has an expression on his face that I can’t understand,” Shiro 3 stated. He had access to the cameras in and out of the apartment, as hacking was one of the features she installed into his system.

 

Pidge groaned one more, running a face over her hand. Great, a person she had to deal with. “In a minute!” she yelled out, pulling on a huge sweatshirt and running pants over her pjs.

 

Shiro 3 was only standing there with a neutral expression on his face. Pidge gave a little sigh and told him, “You should stay here Shiro. I don’t want whoever it is out there to know you’re here.”

 

He gave her a little frown, a frown reminiscent of how Shiro looked when he was upset with something she or Matt did. It made her heart hurt a little bit to see this face looking at her with a frown, but at the same time it made her glad she still had something left of Shiro in her life.

 

“Why?” he asked her, devoid of confusion.

 

“They might think you’re….” she trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it without hurting Shiro 3’s feelings. Pidge glanced over to a picture on her dresser, one that had her grinning so hard while Shiro and Matt were glancing down at her with fond looks. Somehow, Shiro 3 followed her eye trail and looked at the exact same picture she was looking at.

 

“They might think I am Takashi Shirogane,” he finished for her. “The pilot who accompanied Matthew Holt and Samuel Holt on their research trip for Galra Tech and the man you considered your brother.” Pidge had told him numerous of times of the man he bared resemblance to, explaining how he was like and what his interests were. She even told him how Shiro stuck around long enough in the Holt family that her father, Samuel Holt, started considering him his second son.

 

Shiro 3’s statement gave a little smile onto her face. “Yeah,” she nodded her head. “So stay here, don’t move, don’t knock anything over, you know the drill.”

 

She moved to open the door and glanced back to see Shiro 3 obediently standing still in the same exact spot. Shiro 3 gave her a smile, meant to reassure her (or that’s how she was interpreting it to be), and Pidge left, closing the bedroom door behind her. The knocking was still continuing and it seemed to be more urgent now, more demanding. Man, she couldn’t wait to open the door on whoever this guy was and see his fist hanging in mid-air.

 

Opening the door, she found herself looking up at a very good looking man with thick, black hair that curled up above his ear and bangs almost covering his eyes while the lower parts of his hair was cut short. And oh stars, his eyes. She couldn’t figure out which color they were. They looked like a greyish color but Pidge could’ve sworn his eyes shifted to purple. _Oh man,_ she thought. _He’s really handsome._

 

Much to her disappointment, this guy’s fist was not hanging in mid-air once she opened the door; he seemed rather composed in his body language but his face had a deep scowl on it, expressing annoyance.

 

“I’ve been knocking on the door for fifteen minutes,” he spit out with annoyance clear in his tone. “Could you not hear me?”

 

Never mind. She took back everything she thought before he opened his mouth. “Yes,” she said as evenly as she could without rolling her eyes. “I could. But I was in the middle of trying to go back to sleep after working for so late.”

 

Glancing up at him, she still saw that scowl on his face and Pidge immediately decided then she didn’t want to deal with this guy. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be going back to sleep. Good day.”

 

She gave a curt nod to him as she moved her hand to the doorknob. Just as she was about to close it on his face (and get the satisfaction of seeing that annoyed scowl wiped off his face), the guy stuck his foot in-between the door and the doorway. Pidge looked down to see his very fancy, very sleek shoes, and bewilderment started to bloom across her face. _What does this guy want from me?_ She thought.

 

“Wait, please!” he called out, his voice urgent with a hint of frustration. She heard him take a deep breath. “I’m sorry, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. I’m just….stressed and worried. And I could really use your help.”

 

Pidge frowned. He sounded like he was desperate for her help. And she couldn’t say no to someone who needed help.

 

She slowly opened the door to reveal the man’s face looking at her with gratitude. “Thank you,” he said to her softly. Fixing his composure, he stood up straight and asked her, “You’re Katie, Matt Holt’s sister?”

 

All she could do was nod her head, eyes wide at the mention of her brother. “Why don’t you come inside?” she offered, opening up the door all the way. The man went in and Pidge followed him, closing the door behind her. She led him over to the living room, where a TV was set up on the wall and the couches were placed in a U-shape with a coffee table in the center of it. He sat down on one of the couches that was facing away from the TV.

 

“Did you want anything?” she asked, heading over to the kitchen and opening up cabinets filled with various mugs Hunk had given her over the years for Christmas, birthdays, and other occasions.

 

“Water would be fine,” he answered her curtly. Pidge reached into the cabinet, grabbed a two mugs, and filled one with water and the other with coffee that Shiro 3 made for her in the coffee maker before he went to get her minutes earlier.

 

Placing the mug in front of him, the male looked at her with a baffled look on his face. “Yorak?” he read aloud. “What is that supposed to mean?”

 

Pidge had to hold in a laugh when she saw the look on his face as she sat down opposite from him. “It’s a mug my partner got for me as a joke,” she explained to him. “I don’t even know what it even means.”

 

Looking skeptically at her, the man raised the mug to his lips and drank the water. After setting the mug down on the coffee table in front of him, he went back to looking serious. “Miss Holt -” he started but was cut off by her.

 

“Just call me Pidge,” she told him.

 

“Pidge,” he tested the name out on his lips, eyebrows furrowed as he spoke. He was probably wondering how she got a nickname like that. “I’m Keith Kogane. I’m the head of security for Allura Altea and I need your help.”

 

Pidge lifted her eyebrows at Keith’s words. Allura Altea was one of the biggest names out there in the tech world and a huge contender for taking over Galra Tech, a company her father and Zarkon Galra started together. Allura was the adopted child of Zarkon and his wife Haggar, following the mysterious deaths’ of the Alteas. She also had a reputation of being cruel hearted just like her adoptive family, or at least that’s what she heard from from the news.

 

“Allura Altea?” she repeated. “Why would you come to me if it concerns her?” It wouldn’t make sense to come to her. Technically what was known to the world, Pidge was an unemployed, recently graduated student who majored in robotics. To herself, well…..she was an AI creator with funding from whatever company Hunk had asked for money.

 

“It’s a long story,” Keith sighed, running a hand through his hair.

 

Pidge watched as he did this and caught a glimpse of a widow’s peak underneath his hair. _No_ , she shook away the image. _Don’t think about it. Don’t think about his widow’s peak._ Carefully picking up the mug of coffee that she got earlier, she took a sip of the strong caffeinated drink and it instantly awoke her, lifting her senses.

 

Mug still in hand, she replied and looked him straight in the eye. “I have all the time in the world.”

 

\---

 

A few months ago

 

Keith knew something was up with Allura. She was less talkative, often staring into space during business meetings and just nodding her head whenever someone had asked for her opinion on something. It was so unlike the girl he knew and grew up with. She was always cheerful (with him and his mother only), always on top of her game in meetings, and always attentive.

 

So he did what he did best.

 

He confronted her.

 

“What’s going on?” he asked her one day when they were alone in her private office, located within the same floor as the new project (the one she was helming) was being developed.

 

Allura didn’t look at him at first, glancing cautiously to the picture on her desk. Keith knew the picture well; it was one of the last pictures of the Altea family all together before Alfor and his wife were tragically killed. She whispered underneath her breath, “Scramble the cameras.”

 

He gave her a look of concern before proceeding to do what she asked. It was unusual for Allura to ask that. Normally she would be fine telling him about what was bothering her or how Lotor, her adoptive brother, was coming up with unethical plans to secure money for the company or fighting her for the CEO position, a position she didn’t want but fought for so she could end up selling it later on to gain money to give to charities. But whatever she didn’t want the cameras to hear or see must’ve been more secretive than what was usually troubling her.

 

Once he finished, he walked up to her desk and put his hands down on it. “Alright, what is it that’s bothering you?”

 

Allura’s eyebrows scrunched up in worry and immediately he saw concern in her eyes. It confirmed his suspicions that it indeed was more secretive. “I….I think Zarkon had a hand in the deaths of my parents,” she whispered, looking up at him. “I overheard something I shouldn’t have heard. Zethrid, Ezor, and Acxa were talking about how my father needed to be out of the picture and that his death got Zarkon what he wanted.”

 

His eyebrows lowered in resentment. Acxa and him weren’t exactly friends but they weren’t enemies either. But there was something fishy about Acxa that always bothered him. Sometimes, she was either too helpful or was either too against him. Ezor, on the other hand, was too talkative for his tastes and definitely too cheerful during serious matters and Zethrid seemed to blood-thirsty, picking fights out of random situations.

 

“What did he want?”

 

She shook her head. “I don’t know. But if that meant my father somehow got involved in whatever it is, it means whatever Zarkon wanted wasn’t good. And that means we need to find out what it was and expose it.”

 

Keith looked to the side, thinking about what to do. “We have to keep a close eye at him at all times. I’ll try to interrogate people who have worked with Zarkon when Alfor was still around, including Mom. Heck, maybe I’ll try to ask Ezor. Who knows maybe she’ll slip up or something,” he thought aloud to her.

 

“Maybe that would work. Let’s try to see what kind of relationship my father and Zarkon really had instead of the one I knew in my childhood,” Allura said with her brows still scrunched up, except this time it was more thoughtful instead of worried.

 

“But let’s focus on one thing first,” she continued. “I had an uncle, Coran, and he was always around when we were younger.”

 

Keith remembered Coran pretty well from the time he and Allura had spent together as kids. He was a rather eccentric man, full of weird ideas and strange sayings. Of course, he couldn’t forget how dramatic the man was too. “But he disappeared after my parents died. Uncle Coran didn’t say goodbye or anything, just vanished. I think we should try to find him.”

 

Keith looked at her with apprehension. “You think he may know things,” he plainly stated and he received a nod in response.

 

“Why else would Uncle Coran vanish?” she questioned. “It only makes sense that he would disappear if he knew things he shouldn’t know.”

 

“Especially if those things he knew were stuff worth killing someone over,” Keith finished for her. “I’ll look into it. See if I can find anything and I’ll let you know.”

 

Allura put a hand on top of his and gave him a grateful smile, with her blue eyes shining with a tiredness he had not seen from her before. “Thank you Keith.”

 

“Anything for you Allura.”

 

So he looked into it. It took him a few months, but he finally found a lead from sources in the Czech Republic. Coran had apparently been spotted in the market. “Are you sure it’s him?” Keith asked in Czech to his source over the phone when he was alone in his room, which was located inside Allura’s lavishly large house.

 

“I’m sure of it sir,” the source responded back. “He looked exactly like the picture you sent to me.”

 

“Alright,” Keith responded, mind whirling at the revelation. “I’ll be in touch with you soon.” He hung up soon afterwards and rushed to Allura’s room, thoughts racing on telling Allura that he found her uncle.

 

“Allura!” he shouted as he burst into her room. He found her sitting on her bed, with her four cats surrounding her, each one trying to capture her attention.

 

“Keith!” Allura looked a little surprised at Keith’s burst into her room. Normally Keith would have knocked, but he felt that what he just found was more urgent. “What is it?” she asked, concern in her eyes.

 

Keith took a breath before responding. “I found him Allura. He’s in the Czech Republic,” he told her.

 

She stilled at his words, surprise and shock coming at her at once. “What?” she uttered, looking at him straight in the eyes. “You found..”

 

He nodded his head. “Yeah. My source found him in the marketplace in the Czech Republic. We should head out as soon as possible.” His plan was a logical one. He and Allura would go out undetected from Galra Tech’s noisy higher-ups (cough, cough Ezor) and set out for the Czech Republic. There, somehow they would find Coran where ever he was hiding and ask him about anything he knew about what Galra Tech was hiding.

 

But Allura would surprise him, shaking her head. Keith looked at her confused. “What is it?” he asked her, clearly not understanding what her head shake meant.

 

“I don’t think you should go with me,” Allura said firmly, her blue eyes determined. “If you go with me, it would cause more suspicion about what we’re looking into and we can’t have that.”

 

“So you’re saying you’ll go alone?” The more he thought about Allura going alone, the more it infuriated him. He couldn’t have her go alone because what if something happened to her? If something happened to her overseas and he wasn’t there, it would be his fault and it would rest on his conscience for the rest of his days. He couldn’t let his friend, who was almost a sister to him, go alone by herself. It was too dangerous, especially since she was one of the most known figures in the world.

 

“Keith,” she said gently, getting up from her spot on her bed to stand in front of him. Allura put a hand on his shoulder, a gesture that was meant to comfort him. “I have to do this.”

 

Allura’s voice had a distinct rawness to the words she spoke and it struck a chord inside of him. Coran was the only family that she knew she had left and she wanted to be the one to meet him, face to face. To demand answers of why he left her all alone. To tell him how much she missed him, even though it was years since she last saw him. To tell him of how Zarkon and his family had treated her over the years and how much it broke her. So many things Allura had to convey to Coran that were too raw and painful for Keith to understand the depths of, even though he was her closest friend and knew everything that concerned her.

 

Giving a defeated sigh, he spoke to her softly, “I know.” And really, truly he did. This was Allura’s journey to take and it was one where she had to be by herself.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered before embracing him, gratefulness clear on her face.

 

Although Allura was going to go on her own, Keith still couldn’t help but worry about what dangers she could face. He tried his best to set up an elaborate diversion at the airport so that she could sneak away undetected; a colleague of his, who looked crazy similar to Allura, would don the signature white locks Allura was known for with dozens of security guards surrounding her, going in one direction while Allura headed towards another with him in tow, except she had a brown wig on and dark brown contacts to conceal her identity. However, the minute the he and Allura stepped into the airport terminals, Keith could already feel something would go wrong.

 

“Be careful,” he said to her, grabbing her elbow as they stood near one of the shops.

 

“I will be,” Allura promised him. “And you must be careful too.” Keith nodded his head in agreement and let go of Allura’s arm, regretting doing so and dreading what was to come now that she was on her own. He stayed behind, waiting near the shop while Allura moved forward, confident in every step she took. For a moment, things looked like they were going well until Allura bumped into a man who was carrying a heavy black binder, which dropped to the ground at the unexpected contact.

 

“I’m so sorry,” he heard Allura apologize, regret filling her voice. “Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the man replied back with a coolness that could only have meant it wasn’t a big deal to him. “And it’s alright.” He bent down to collect the various papers that had fallen out from his binder.

 

Allura bent down as well. “Here, let me help you with this,” she said, picking up the papers as well. She stopped and glanced down at the paper, which seemed a tad bit suspicious to Keith. “You’re studying to be a pilot for the Garrison?” he heard her ask. The Garrison. Keith’s heart stopped for a moment, reminding him of a time not so long ago when he was there and where he met-

 

“Yeah,” the man replied with a smile. “It’s my biggest dream.” Keith saw the man still when he met eyes with Allura and it was clear as day that this man was entranced by her looks. “Hey, girl, you’re outta this world and I would know! Since I’ve never seen a girl as beautiful as you,” he said to her with a stupid grin and raised eyebrows.

 

Allura groaned and he knew she would be rolling her eyes, her whole demeanor changed.

 

“Aw man,” the man groaned. “Usually it works.”

 

Allura responded back evenly, getting up from her spot and getting back into a standing position. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I must get going. I have a flight to catch and I am so sorry again for bumping into you.” The last part of her statement seemed forced almost, as if she didn’t want to apologize after hearing that terrible pick up line. Keith wouldn’t want to either.

 

“Wait!” he called to her as she was starting to walk away. For a moment, Keith thought that this man recognized Allura and was going to call her out on it. He was already ready to walk from his position and not so subtly shove that jerk to the ground. “Where are you going?” he asked her, surprising Keith and Allura at the same time.

 

“The Czech Republic.”

 

The man hesitated before speaking again, “ I hope you get there safely.” _So do I_ , thought Keith.

 

Allura was a little surprised at the man’s words and the surprise was clearly evident on her face. Giving a small smile, she nodded her head. “And I hope you get into the piloting program, Lance Serrano.” If Keith had to be honest, the encounter between Allura and this Lance seemed so normal, so ordinary, that he almost forgot the stakes that Allura would be facing. How urgent this trip was to her. This made her seem like she was just a regular person going on a trip, not a high-ranking business woman who was trying to find out the secrets behind the company she was in.

 

Little did he know that this was probably the last time he saw Allura smiling for awhile.

 

\---

 

A few days went by without any message from Allura, leaving Keith stressed out and worried. His mother, Krolia, knew of the journey that Allura had to take (as both of them told her), and had tried her best to calm him down.

 

“Keith calm down. You’re overreacting,” she said to him, quietly nursing a cup of tea and reading the news on her tablet. Keith was pacing back in forth in his mother’s kitchen, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

 

“I’m not overreacting,” he gritted out.

 

“Yes you are.” Krolia put down her cup and tablet to look at him. “Allura is a grown woman. She can handle herself because you taught her everything she needed to know.”

 

It was true. On their free time, Keith had given her self-defense lessons in case of situations where he wasn’t around to help him. Allura excelled in those lessons, quickly learning how to judo flip him over in a matter of seconds.

 

“I know Mom.” Keith stopped pacing to look up at the not impressed eyes of his mother. “I’m worried about what Galra Tech would do to her. People will find out that Allura is going after information about Zarkon and they won’t hesitate to do something about it.” That was something that he learned very quickly when he first starting working there. Whenever Zarkon, Haggar, or Lotor found people snooping around their business, they would take them out. How, Keith would never know. Heck he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.

 

Hours later, he would soon discover that he wasn’t wrong about his worries concerning Allura. And that all came with a foreign phone number he didn’t recognize.

 

“Hello?” he answered tentatively, unsure if the phone call was some death threat or a threat towards Allura’s safety.

 

“Is this Keith?” a man’s voice asked him from the other side of the line. The voice sounded oddly familiar, Keith thought. His accent was different, voice slightly pitched with urgency.

Could it be?

 

“This is he,” Keith responded. “Coran is that you?”

 

“Keith! It’s been too long!” Coran said to him, happy at first but quickly changing to a somber tone. “But I need you to come find me in the Czech Republic. I’m afraid something terrible has happened.”

 

Coran didn’t need to tell him anything else. He knew already deep in his gut that something had happened to Allura. “I’m on my way,” he promised, quickly grabbing a bag and stuffing various clothes inside. He hung up the phone, quickly grabbing his belongings and raced out the door to reach his car.

 

When he finally reached the Czech Republic, somehow he bumped into Coran in the marketplace. Coran almost looked unidentifiable with his totally black outfit, with a black hat and a pair of sunglasses resting over his nose. The only thing that gave him away was his thick, curling mustache.

 

“We must hurry!” Coran whispered to him as he passed him. “There’s eyes and ears all around. Follow me.” The man started to walk quickly, heading toward the throng of people and left Keith with no choice but to head there as well. It was crowded and quite a few times, he almost lost sight of Coran. Luckily enough, Keith was tall enough to see over the heads of people.

 

When Coran stopped, he motioned to a car waiting in a parking space and quickly got into the driver’s seat. Keith went towards the car, looking both ways for anyone suspicious, and then got into the passenger seat.

 

“It’s good to see you Coran,” Keith said to the older man once the car was a safe distance away from the marketplace. Coran had discarded the hat and sunglasses, revealing his signature red hair and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

 

“I wish it was under different circumstances though,” Coran replied, voice a little saddened. “I would’ve loved to come back to see you two all grown up and well, not hurt.” The mention of hurt brought Keith’s thoughts back to Allura, instantly making him worry.

 

“What happened?” he demanded, not even caring that his voice sounded almost angry like.

 

“It’s a long story. We’ll tell you once we get to my house.” We? Keith thought, still angry but confused. Who was we?

 

They reached Coran’s house minutes later and Keith was honestly surprised at the look of the house. It was big but very secluded from the rest of the city, with green shrubs and trees surrounding the house. The house itself was built with many stones and featured a steep staircase in the patio in front of the house.

 

Keith instantly rushed out the car and straight towards the front door, forgetting about the details of the car. Once he jogged up the stairs, he pounded on the door furiously with anxiety and dread gnawing in his gut.

 

“Keith!” Coran shouted behind him, jogging up the stairs at a much slower rate. “Wait Ma-”

 

Coran didn’t get to finish his statement because the door opened, revealing the long lost face of a Matthew Holt, who was a very close friend of his dead ex-boyfriend and Allura herself. He looked much different than how he looked before. Long gone was his well-cut hairdo and his youthful eyes; in its place was messy, shoulder-length hair and hardened eyes that had seen too much.

 

“Matt?” Keith asked, confusion seeping into his face. All the anger melted away leaving confusion in its wake. “What-” he started, shaking his head. “But they said you died. There were reports on your death. There were funerals for you all.”

 

As he gazed back into Matt’s eyes, he saw a sadness within them, but an underlying fury hidden beneath. What the emotions in his eyes represented he didn’t know. “Yeah. That’s what Galra said. But I’m right here. You should come in.” He opened the door wider and Keith and Coran took a step inside the house. Matt lead them up the stairs in the house and stopped in front of a closed door. Keith already knew something involving Allura was behind this door but what was behind the door shocked him.

 

When Matt opened the door, it revealed the sight of Allura lying comatose in the bed, monitors surrounding her and beeping constantly. Her head was wrapped with white linen bandages and her face was oddly peaceful with her lips shaped in a thin line. Keith stood there, horrified at the sight of his friend looking like that.

 

It was almost like she was dead.

 

“What happened?” he barked out, the reality of everything sinking in. This was his fault. He was the one who let Allura go alone. He should’ve insisted that they went together.

 

Matt was the one who spoke up; his voice was hesitant, clearly thinking through his words so Keith wouldn’t be more angry than he already was. “Allura was in the marketplace a few days, wandering around. From the CCTV I was able to hack into, it seemed like she knew someone was following her. She was just about to get into a car when she saw me. And she was crossing the street looking at me at disbelief in her eyes and then…” Matt trailed off, not really wanting to continue.

 

“And she got hit by a vehicle,” Keith continued for Matt, teeth gritted in resentment.

 

He nodded his head sadly. “But it was a hit and run. From the looks of the CCTV, it was clear that the guy meant to hit Allura. That’s where the guy following her comes in. Probably hired the guy in the truck to hit her, to make it look like an accident when it was actually attempted murder.”

 

Keith nodded his head, taking in all the information. “So what…” he started.

 

“She suffers from a blow to the head,” Coran explained, looking glumly at his niece. “And a huge loss of blood.”

 

Keith walked closer to Allura’s bedside, steps soft and slow as he approached her. She looked lifeless. There was no sign of fluttering eyelids or any body movement. Tubes were inserted through her nose and IV bags hung from their racks with needles injected into her skin. The only sign that was proof that she was alive was the constant beeping of the monitor next to her.

 

“Do you know when she’ll wake up?” he asked her, his voice reaching a dangerous low tone.

 

Both Coran and Matt shook their heads dejectedly. “If we have to be honest, we requested that we should take her home before any other damaged had happened,” Matt replied. “And because of that, we didn’t get an answer from the doctor about her condition.”

 

The two other men looked at Keith sadly before making their way out of Allura’s room and back downstairs. Keith gave one last look at Allura, softly rubbing her hand in the process, and left to go talk to them.

 

Matt was sitting in front of a bunch of computers, the bright screens illuminating how tired he was while Coran sat on the couch, rubbing his eyes. Keith realized that Allura’s accident put a heavy load on their shoulders; it was the inability to do anything as they silently watched in horror Allura’s body being thrown aside as if she had no weight to her. It was knowing that they could’ve done something to prevent the accident from happening. This burden was something he related to as well.

 

“Keith,” Coran spoke, breaking him out of his thoughts, and looking at him with a burning curiosity. “Why did Allura come here? That’s the one thing that’s been plaguing me after she got out of the hospital.”

 

“She thinks that Zarkon had a role to play in the deaths of her parents,” Keith told him, leaning against the kitchen counter. “And she believed that you knew something since you ran off without a single goodbye.”

 

As he spoke, he looked over to see Coran’s guilty expression while Matt looked uncomfortable, pretending to be staring at the computers out of discomfort. “I always regretted running away from Allura, not telling her goodbye or why I couldn’t take her in. I thought this way would protect Allura,” Coran admitted, shaking his head. “I was wrong.”

 

There was so much regret in his voice and Keith felt for him. “Can you tell us what you know about Zarkon?” he asked softly. “It’s a start.”

 

Coran nodded his head. “Back in the day, Zarkon was planning something massive, huge! It was supposed to bring in a new wave of technology and was supposed to be Galra Tech’s way of showing they were the ultimate power. How Zarkon became power hungry is something I don’t understand to this day but I assume it had arisen as Galra Tech became more successful throughout the years.

 

But Alfor knew that the plans were flawed. He told me himself that the plans were inhumane; it was taking away rights and freedoms away from the people. And Alfor couldn’t stand with that. He couldn’t take part in something that was so horrible,” Coran explained.

 

“What was it?”

 

“Mind controlling chips,” Matt answered. “They’d be planted on human individuals through their wrists, forcing people to stop crimes or even worse, submit their will to people of power through electrical currents that could be sent to the brain. I have it.”

 

Matt held up a band, made of black with purple lining the outer rim. It was the Galra Tech identification bracelets. Keith looked down to his own wrist in horror. But he would deal with this bracelet later.   

 

“Alfor stood up to Zarkon, telling him that he couldn’t play a part in his plan. He quit that very day and Zarkon wasn’t happy. Alfor was the mastermind behind Galra Tech. Zarkon was just the businessman. And without Alfor, Galra Tech wouldn’t survive. Alfor was planning to work for the Garrison, the space exploration school, but Zarkon wouldn’t have it. Either he would have Alfor’s work or no one could have him. Since Alfor wouldn’t work with him, he did the only thing that was left. To murder him,” Coran continued.

 

“It was when Allura was with you and your mother, at a playdate.”

 

Keith remembered that day vividly. When his mother picked up the phone, paling at the words spoken to her on the other side of the line. He kept asking what was wrong but Krolia wouldn’t answer, her eyes focused solely on Allura. Allura’s eyes were innocent, filled with bright hopes and dreams; but after Krolia told her the news of her parents’ deaths, her eyes became lost and hardened by the hit of reality and loss.

 

“Alfor and his wife were out on a date, but then when they were driving to get her, Zarkon’s man went after them. He shot at their tire and shot Alfor straight in the head while he choked Allura’s mother to death.”

 

“And they never found the guy?” Keith asked. He was answered with a shake of the head from Coran.

 

“I had to get out after the funeral,” Coran spoke softly. “Zarkon knew Alfor and I were close. I suspected it was only a matter of time before Zarkon would go after me and kill me for the information I knew. I didn’t want to leave, but I couldn’t go through the pain of Allura losing more family members.”

 

Keith nodded his head in understanding. People did drastic things to keep the people they love safe. And Keith still had to continue his job of keeping Allura safe, especially from the hands of Zarkon and the rest of his family. If word spread out that Allura was in a coma, it would cause an uproar within the company and title of CEO would be passed to Lotor. And Allura wouldn’t want that, especially after what he just learned about Zarkon’s plans and the way they both knew Lotor would act. Lotor would only further his father’s goals.  

 

“We have to figure out what to do,” Keith said, voicing his thoughts aloud. “If word spreads that Allura is in a coma, the position of CEO will be passed to Lotor, Zarkon’s son. And we don’t want that. Lotor is worse than his father; he claims that what he aims for is peace but it’s really just a scramble for more power. So we need to find a way to get Allura back and running again.”

 

Coran looked like he was thinking of ideas and solutions to wake up his niece but was coming up with nothing. Matt on the other hand, looked like a light bulb went off in his head.

 

“I think I know of something we can,” he said aloud, sparking a hope inside of Keith.

 

\---

 

Present

 

“...And that’s why I’m here,” Keith said, bent over and looking at her intensely. “Your brother said you were the one who could help us while he and Coran would find a way to be in control of the chips.”

 

Pidge stared at him, words refusing to come to her mouth. Her brother….he was alive. It was like a miracle sent from heaven. She knew deep down in her heart that he wasn’t dead! She refused to listen to the reports from Galra Tech that their research trip was a failure and that her family died.

 

Keith continued on, not noticing her shock. “But he didn’t say what you could help us with. He just said my little sister can help you and that’s it. So what it is can you do?”

 

When she realized Keith was staring at her for an answer, she shook her head, dismissing the thoughts she had about her brother. “Well, let me just show you. Shiro 3 you can come out!” she yelled towards her door. Keith looked at her in confusion and Pidge was assuming she had a dog or something that she wanted to show him. (Well it was almost like that she supposed.)

 

Shiro 3 came out with a smile and Pidge beamed at her creation. Keith on the other hand looked stunned.

 

“Shiro?” he uttered out softly, his eyes wide. “You’re alive?”

 

Pidge frowned at Keith’s words. Did Keith somehow know Shiro before the research trip? “No, it isn’t Shiro,” she said. “This is Shiro 3, he’s an AI.”

 

“Hello,” Shiro 3 introduced himself. “I am an AI, Takashi Shirogane 3. You have mistaken me for Takashi Shirogane, a pilot from the Garrison.”

 

There were no words coming out from Keith. He just stared at Shiro 3 in astonishment and something else Pidge couldn’t place. For some weird reason, the look in his eyes reminded her of sadness.

 

“But how?” Keith finally spoke, turning to her. “How did you make him so….so human? And why did you make him?”

 

“I had notes from left by Matt. The skin on Shiro 3 is synthetic and is made to feel like true human skin. And his hair is soft but synthetic as well. That and the skin were probably the hardest parts. And I tried my best to put everything that I remembered about the real Shiro into Shiro 3,” Pidge explained, hoping that it didn’t sound like she was bragging. (Not to say she wasn’t proud of her creation, but she didn’t want to brag in front of a very good looking guy.)

 

“But I made him, along with two other AIs because I really wanted them around still,” she confessed. It was weird being so open with a man she literally just met. “Shiro was like a brother to me and I missed him a lot, so I thought maybe I could keep a part of him alive by creating this AI.”

 

Keith didn’t respond to her confession, either lost in thought or blown away by seeing Shiro 3. She was hoping it was a bit of both.

 

However, she decided to take a stab at what Matt thought she could help with to fill out the emptiness hanging in the air. “So I’m guessing Matt thought I could help you by creating an AI of Ms. Altea, one that would be able to confuse people at Galra Tech long enough until Ms. Altea is well enough.”

 

“I guess so. This is….scary and cool,” he admitted to her. Pidge decided she would take it as a compliment from him. Keith looked like the type not to give out compliments so freely.

 

“Tell me about it. Sometimes I actually believe he’s the real Shiro,” Pidge said, quickly grimacing once she saw the look on Shiro 3’s face. He was doing his weird not exactly sad face but more confused face, since he was a robot, but seeing it made her guilty. Even though Shiro 3 was nothing really like the real Shiro, Shiro 3 was a great person all on his own, with such a caring and protecting personality. (Wait robot, she corrected herself. The caring and protectiveness was really just his programming.)

 

“Shiro 3 is great though,” she added on and glanced over to see a smile on Shiro 3’s face. “It’s like he’s his own person.”

 

Keith nodded his head, taking in her words. “So how long did it take you to build….” he looked up and down at Shiro 3 before continuing. “Him?”

 

“Not very. Since Hunk, my partner, and I already knew what worked from the first AI model, we just incorporated it all into this one. He works a lot better than the first two and has a bunch more upgrades.”

 

“I need you and Hunk to build an AI of Allura and fast,” Keith said once she stopped talking. Pidge was honestly surprised at how fast Keith was onboard with this whole AI thing, since he was shocked at seeing Shiro 3. She guessed he really didn’t have any other options. “I will compensate you two greatly for your services. So will you do it?”

 

It did sound tempting, getting paid heavily for something you loved building. And plus she did need the extra money (since she did spend most of it on the new upgrades and the rent for the loft.) “Sure,” Pidge agreed and she watched Keith give out a breath of relief.

 

He smiled at her. “Thank you Pidge.”

 

“I’ll start right away. I have an older AI model we can use. All we would need to do is change the limbs, change the skin, and put in new hair but that should be easy.” Pidge paused, thinking of the first AI model she had.

 

Matt 1.

 

He was her first AI. The one that comforted her over the loss of her brother, the one who hugged her tightly.

 

She didn’t want to get rid of him, but she didn’t have a choice. Matt was alive. She technically didn’t need him.

 

But she didn’t want to get rid of the memories that laid within Matt 1.

 

So instead she decided would use her dad’s AI, the one that she spent the least time with.

 

Another question raised in her mind. Why didn’t Matt try to contact her after all these years? Surely he must’ve known that she would have wanted an answer, an explanation for his disappearance.  

 

“Did he say anything else? About me?” she found herself asking.

 

He gave her a look, one that seemed far too understanding. Keith grabbed something out his pocket and handed it to her. It was a letter. “He wrote this all out for you. It explains why he couldn’t let you know he was alive and everything else.”

 

She stared at it. It was the first thing from her brother in five years. Something inside of her was afraid to take it but watching Keith look down at her sympathetically made her take it.

 

“Thanks,” she said to him, looking down at the letter with her name scrawled on the front with Matt’s all too familiar handwriting.

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Then the front door burst open, scaring the heck out of Pidge while Keith looked ready to jump whoever opened the door. Shiro 3 just stood there unperturbed.

 

It turned out to be none other than Hunk who was carrying bags of groceries, his bandana tied tightly around his head as his hair fanned out around his face.

 

He had a big grin on his face, clearly not noticing that Keith was in the room. He was too busy coming up with ideas. “So Pidge, Shiro 3, what’s the plans for today? Are we going to play Monsters and Mana or are we going to binge watch movies? Or even experiment with new technology? Oh, Shiro 3 can I teach you how to make coconut rice!”

 

Pidge was just staring at him and he gave her a confused look. “What? What is it?” he asked her, clearly not understanding that there was someone else in the room.

 

“Hunk,” Shiro 3 started, but Hunk cut him off.

 

“It’s Uncle Hunk remember? Even though you are technically modeled after a man who’s older than me, you’re like my kid, but you’re more Pidge’s kid so that would make me your uncle,” Hunk rambled on, put down the groceries on the kitchen counter.

 

“Hunk!” Pidge pretty much yelled. Her partner looked to her startled and she had to motion her eyes towards Keith, who was just staring at Hunk with a baffled look.

 

Luckily Hunk caught on and followed her eye trail, finally resting his eyes upon Keith. “Wait who are you?” he asked, confused. “When did you get here? Wait, don’t tell me.”

 

He held up his hand to stop Keith, Pidge, or Shiro 3 from saying anything. “Hmmm….are you Pidge’s Tinder date?”

 

“What?” she screamed, her jaw dropping. “No! Why would he be my Tinder date? I don’t even have a Tinder!”

 

She was going to die of embarrassment because of Hunk. Who did he think she was? Did she seem like the type of desperate person to look for someone on an app? Did she seem like the type to choose literally one of the hottest guys on the planet? No, she didn’t! Pidge made a mental note to kill him later on.

 

“I don’t know!” Hunk exclaimed shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe you want to date a guy?”

 

Before she and Hunk could start bickering, Keith spoke, voice low and very annoyed. “I’ll tell you why. You’re going to have to sit down though.”

 

“Alright,” Hunk said, plopping down into the cushions of the couch.

 

 _Here we go again_ , Pidge thought before mentally moving on to ideas for the Allura AI.

  
  



	2. why do we

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen to the song here: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zhfPPO5i6w

_ They say time only heals you _ __  
_ But truth is it hurts you _ __  
_ Even when the scars aren't deep _ __  
__  
_ I know it's not worth it _ __  
_ Believe me I know that _ __  
_ Memories don't fade away _ __  
__  
_ See why do we _ __  
_ Why do we make this up _ __  
_ Even when I'm right beside you _ __  
_ Why do we keep this up _ __  
__  
_ See why do we  _ __  
_ Why do we try so hard _ __  
_ Cause nothing seems better without you _ __  
__  
_ Why do we make this up _ _  
_ __ Why do we keep this up

 

_ \--- _

 

Lance gave a sigh, staring at the paper in front of him. His heart was beating fast, anxiously, waiting in anticipation to see what it said. 

 

Right here was his future, his destiny, his dreams, in his hands. This paper would tell him if he would become a pilot for the Garrison, like Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane, the man Veronica would go on and on about and the one who became one of the youngest pilots to ever pass the program. (When he was younger, he assumed that Veronica had taken a fancy to Shiro but she always claimed she was envious of how talented he was.) 

 

Lance had always loved the idea of flying from a young age, constantly asking his older siblings about what the sky was like, why stars shone so brightly in the sky, or how clouds felt. Unfortunately for him, his siblings did not have the answers to his bazillion questions. So when Veronica, his older sister, told him about the Garrison, he just knew that he had to make it in. He had to make it into the piloting program they had so he could reach his dream of touching the clouds and being free like a bird. 

 

And so, when the Garrison was accepting applicants for the piloting program, Lance knew he had to apply. At twenty-three, he knew he was ready to take on the challenge. He had already passed many of the classes the Garrison had to offer and was always very close to being first in the class (it was that stupid, arrogant James Griffin who was always coming in first). 

 

Once he had taken the piloting test, he thought that he did pretty well. He studied really hard (more harder than anything in high school) and trained daily to ensure that his maneuvers were perfect. 

 

And now, the results were out. 

 

Taking a deep breath, Lance decided to open it.  _ Please say that I made it _ , he prayed, squeezing his eyes shut.

 

When he looked down, his heart dropped at the words. 

 

_ ‘Failed’ _ , it read in bold, black ink. 

 

His mind raced, eyes scanning over the results from all the tests he had to take. Defense said passed. Lance went down the list, looking at the other tests. They all said pass, except for one. 

 

The flight simulator. 

 

The flight simulator was programmed to be the hardest out of all the tests the cadets had to take. He studied for it though, as well as he could. Late at night, he would sneak into the simulator room, spark a few plugs together, and then would practice for as long as his mind and his body let him. He even thought he did well on the test, going up to as far as level 5. It was definitely a lot farther than how James went. (Only got to Level 4). 

 

Tears started to well up in his eyes. He didn’t make it. He was never going to reach his dreams of being a pilot. 

 

He failed. 

 

The word failure repeated over and over in his head, making him feel ashamed. Why did he even try to become a pilot? Why did he work his butt off for something he would never accomplish? Everything seemed pointless now since he couldn’t become a pilot. He was practically worthless now. 

 

The tears rolled down silently down his face, the reality of his situation sinking in. He covered up his eyes with his arm, berating himself for not trying harder to get in, for being a failure. Lance cried for the dreams that would never come true, cried for all the late nights when he wanted to give up, and cried for the fact he failed. 

 

The phone rang next to him on the bed, the song “We are Family” chiming out as the ringtone. Lance really didn’t want to respond to it. He didn’t want to deal with the pity from his family who were rooting so hard for him to achieve his dream. The fact that his family would feel sorry for him made him cry more, sobs becoming a little more louder than the silent tears he cried earlier. 

 

The song stopped and the only sound in his room were his tears. It wasn’t comforting at all for Lance, knowing he was alone without someone to talk to. But it was better than talking to his family about how he did. 

 

_ Ping! _ His phone went off. 

 

Lance glanced wearily to his phone, lighting up everytime when a new text was sent. Obviously this person who was texting him wouldn’t seem to stop texting him until he picked up. 

 

**_la mejor hermana [5:21 PM]_ ** _ :  _

 

_ Lance!!! I heard the results came out!  _

 

**_la mejor hermana [5:21 PM]:_ **

 

_ How’d you do?  _

 

**_la mejor hermana [5:23 PM]:_ **

 

_ Okay you’re not picking up so I’m taking it as a bad sign  _

 

**_la mejor hermana [5:24 PM]:_ **

 

_ Call me soon please  _

 

**_la mejor hermana [5:24 PM]:_ **

 

_ Or I’m going to spam you  _

 

**_la mejor hermana [5:25 PM]:_ **

 

_ (Image sent)  _

 

**_la mejor hermana [5:26 PM]:_ **

 

_ Lance I just want to make sure you’re okay _

 

It hurt to see his sister messaging him and what hurt even more was that it was Veronica. Smart Veronica, the one who had everything come easy to her. And she was the one out of his siblings she was the closest to and one of his heroes. To tell her that he failed would be hard because he didn’t want to disappoint her.    
  


The pings of incoming texts kept coming in and Lance sniffled, wiping away any last remaining tears before pressing on his sister’s nickname to call her. He didn’t want her to know that he was crying; it would only worry her more. 

 

“Hey Veronica!” he said cheerfully into his phone. “Sorry I didn’t get your call at first, I had to use the bathroom.” He lied. He never usually lied to his family, but he didn’t want Veronica to suspect anything. 

 

“No you didn’t,” Veronica answered back. He could imagine her frowning at him, especially with that tone of voice she used. “Lance, I know you better than you think. It was about the results weren’t they?” 

 

“No.” 

 

She paused before she spoke again. “You didn’t make it, did you?” her voice was gentle, soothing like their mother’s. Tears wanted to sprout out of his eyes then. 

 

“I… I don’t understand,” he found himself saying to her sister. “I studied so hard. I worked my butt off to make sure I made it in. But I didn’t pass the flight simulator test. And I practiced so hard for that. I got up to Level 5 for that.” The tears crept out, slowly falling out of his eyes and dripping down his face. 

 

Veronica didn’t say anything at first but a moment later, she said, “I’ll be right back.” Then she hung up on him. He didn’t know whether or not this was supposed to make him feel better (it really didn’t). Lance ended up crying some more, with his arm once again covering his eyes and his other arm outstretched on the bed. 

 

Minutes later, there was a knock at the door. He sat up, a little surprised to be having visitors, since everyone seemed to be out celebrating their results (he could hear them outside his room). Sniffling, once again, he wiped away his tears and quickly went to the mirror on his desk, checking if his face was puffy and red. Luckily for him, it wasn’t too bad or that noticeable. 

 

The person on the other side of the door wasn’t who he expected. 

 

It was Veronica. 

 

She had a sympathetic look on her face. “Oh Lancito,” she breathed out and Lance ran to hug his sister, as if he was still a child. He had to crouch down to bury his face into her neck, as he was taller than her now. His older sister ran a hand over his hair, patting his back and hugging him close, murmuring how it was okay. 

 

This wasn’t how he wanted his day to go but he was grateful for his sister being there. 

 

\---

 

After crying for what seemed like hours later to Lance, both he and Veronica were sitting on his bed with her arm wrapped around his shoulder. He had his head lying on her shoulder and it was tucked underneath her own head. 

 

“What am I going to do now?” he asked his sister softly. “I don’t think I can stay here.” 

 

“Why not?” There was no judgement in her tone, just pure curiosity. 

 

“It’ll just be a reminder of how much I failed,” Lance responded, voice full of remorse. “Of how much I wasn’t enough to be a pilot.” 

 

Veronica sighed on top of him. “You are enough Lance,” she told him gingerly. “The Garrison just didn’t see that potential I know you have.” Her words though, did not make much of an impact on him.

 

“You know,” she added on, “Sometimes the Garrison makes mistakes. There was this really talented pilot, Keith, three years below me but he was one of the very few who were young enough that applied. Passed the flight simulator test easily and he was pretty good at defense too. It was really clear that he was meant to be in the skies.” 

 

“What happened to him?” he asked her, getting up from her shoulder to look at her. 

 

“Didn’t pass, just like you. None of us knew why he didn’t pass. But I later discovered that Commander Iverson failed him on purpose. There was money involved and Admiral Sanda would pay Iverson a hefty amount for failing him. I’m guessing Sanda didn’t really like Keith and wanted to see him out of the school,” Veronica explained, her face darkening.

 

“And obviously, that didn’t go very well with Keith once he found out and he beat the living hell of out Iverson.” Someone beating Iverson? That must’ve been a sight to see. 

 

“You know where he’s at now?” Veronica asked him and he gave a shake of his head. “He’s the top of security at Galra Tech.” 

 

“What?” he asked in disbelief. Galra Tech? It was one of the top leading technological companies out there and to be working for them, oh boy. Whoever this Keith person was must’ve been making a hefty salary. And seeing a lot of attractive women. Not that Lance cared of course. 

 

“Yeah,” Veronica nodded her head. “If you want, I can ask Keith for an interview.” 

 

He scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. “An interview for what?” 

 

“For Galra Tech’s security team. So you be somewhere else than here,” she motioned to around them, to his room, to the Garrison. “Maybe you could use this job as a way to clear your head.” 

 

He nodded his head to Veronica’s words.  _ A new start _ , Lance thought.  _ It’s not like have more to lose _ . 

 

\---

 

When he sat in front of Keith Kogane for the first time, he couldn’t help but think  _ Man, he looks like a jerk.  _ Keith currently had an unimpressed look (or was it a scowl) on his face as he stared at his resume. Everything about him screamed that he looked like he thought highly of himself, from his fancy suit to his almost  _ mullet _ . (His hair was a little bit past his ear, almost reaching the lower part of his neck). And he instantly decided that he didn’t like this guy that much. 

 

“So,” Keith finally said to him after staring at his resume for eternity. “Why did you want to work here?” 

 

Why did Lance want to work there? Well the pay was decent (scratch that, it was more than decent it was stupendous). A lot of the women there were hot. (Nope, can’t say that and plus Veronica would kill him if she found out that he said that so he figured that he shouldn’t say it.) 

 

So why did he want to work there? 

 

“Lance?” Keith said his name, looking more unimpressed with him at the minute. “Did you need me to repeat the question.” Oh man he wished he could wipe that stupid look off his face and show him exactly what he had. Wait, he couldn’t. He was nothing. 

 

“No, sir,” Lance answered immediately. It was weird calling a guy who was only a year older than him ‘sir’. “I wanted this job because….”

 

Because of what? What bullshit excuse could he give to this guy who looked like he could sniff out the truth out of him in minutes? 

 

“Because I want to protect Galra Tech’s stuff,” he ended up bursting out.  _ Really? _ He thought to himself.  _ You could’ve chosen anything to say what you wanted to protect but you say stuff?! How professional of you Lance.  _ But it wasn’t far off from the truth. He had wanted to become a fighter pilot at the Garrison, the ones who shot down the enemies. Lance wanted to be of the ones to protect those he loved, like his family. 

 

“I know everything at Galra is really secretive and everything so given the chance to keep those secrets within the company is rewarding. And the people in the company. Keeping them safe would be rewarding as well.” Lance continued on. In his head, it sounded like he was spewing out lies instead of actually being honest, and if he had to be honest, he didn’t know why he would even do as a security guard at Galra Tech. And did security guards even protect people? 

 

“Really?” Keith leant back in his chair, his expression piqued. “I haven’t heard that many people say it would be rewarding to keep the secrets of Galra Tech and keep the people safe.” 

 

“Yeah,” Lance nodded his head, but on the inside he was freaking out. He had no idea where he was going in this interview and figured he should just leave it at that before he said more shitty things. 

 

He watched as Keith grab his resume again, scanning his eyes up and down over the words on the paper. “You studied at the Garrison?” 

 

Lance only nodded his head, old wounds reopening at the mention of his previous school. It still stung quite a bit that he didn’t get into the piloting program and Veronica tried her best to reassure him that he didn’t need the Garrison. (She went on to tell him that there were other piloting programs that he could get to, telling him the probability of him making it into those programs were very high. It still didn’t relieve the pain as being a pilot of the Garrison was his dream, but he did appreciate her attempts to make him feel better.) 

 

“You’re hired,” Keith said, putting down Lance’s resume on the table.

 

Keith’s words elicited a gasp from him. He was what?! Lance’s jaw dropped in shock and he managed to ask, “What?” Maybe Keith wasn’t as much of a jerk as he thought. 

 

“You’re hired. Couldn’t you hear me the first time?” Keith gave him a look of annoyance as he got up from his seat, heading towards the door. Never mind, his looks made him once again a jerk in Lance’s mind. 

 

“Shouldn’t there be like a reviewal from some committee or something? To see if I’m qualified or not?” Lance was really confused. Wasn’t that how most jobs worked? They’d review the resumes and whatnot to see if they like the person (or if the person was qualified enough). Then if they liked the person, they’d give them a call to tell them they were hired. (He only knew this because his older brother, Marco, had this happen to him a couple of times.) 

 

“I’m the head of security,” he responded plainly as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I make most of the decisions regarding the safety of Ms. Altea, and Mr. Galra and his family.”

 

As Keith opened the door and was about to leave, he gave him another look. “Why aren’t you coming Lance?” 

 

“Going where?” Lance was confused, still trying to process everything that happened to him within the past few minutes. 

 

“I’m going to give you a tour,” Keith said, eyebrows lowering with confusion. “Of you know, the building? You’re not going to come in here for your first day knowing the place already.’ 

 

“Oh yeah,” Lance scrambled to get out of his seat, crinkling up the suit he was wearing in the process. “Lead the way Mr. Kogane.” 

 

“Just call me Keith,” he told him, as they walked down the hall. Calling him Keith definitely sounded more natural than calling him Mr. Kogane. And the dude was only a year older than him. 

 

“So this is the break room,” he pointed to a huge room with coffee cups, bagels, and other things found in a kitchen. Then he pointed to another room down the hall, one that looked huge and spacious as there were glass doors and windows that revealed the inside. “That’s where the development of the G car is taking place.” 

 

“What’s the G car?” Lance asked him, trying to walk beside his new employer but to no avail. Keith was just simply walking too fast. 

 

“A self driving car Galra Tech is trying to issue out,” Keith explained. “They’re still working out the kinks and everything. Mr. Galra wants to reveal the creation of the G car at an upcoming press release.” 

 

Lance nodded his head in understanding and then Keith opened the door of the development room and even though Lance knew the room was big from the outside, it seemed even bigger on the inside. The room was painted white, with clear view of the city outside. Everything about the room screamed smart and futuristic to him and there was even a car in the corner of the room, painted a maroon-ish color. Lance guessed that this was the actual G car that they were working on. There were only a few workstations, notebooks and scribbles at each one and he guessed that there were only a few who were working on the car. It was interesting to Lance that there weren’t more people working on it. 

 

Keith was walking towards a door located on the opposite side of where the car was, knocking first before making a move to open the door. Lance wondered for a minute why Keith needed to knock before entering but then as soon as he stepped into the room, he understood why. 

 

He was standing in the private office of Allura Altea. 

 

She was sitting at her desk, her signature white hair bundled up into a neat bun with a few stray strands sticking out. Ms. Altea looked focused as she stared at the tablet in front of her, swiping to the right to see the work that various people had submitted to her. He had to admit, up close Ms. Altea was actually very pretty; the news and tabloids didn’t seem to do her justice. Like, they didn’t seem to get the color of her eyes right. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle, especially in the right light, and from the look of them, they seemed to vary from a light blue to a medium shade of blue. 

 

Somehow Ms. Altea reminded him of the woman he bumped into at the airport, except she had white hair instead of the dark locks the woman had. 

 

“Ms. Altea,” Keith said to draw Ms. Altea out of her work and she looked up, a pleasant smile covering her face. 

 

“Keith!” Ms. Altea’s eyes seemed to sparkle with joy as she saw Keith. It made Lance question if she had feelings for him. 

 

However, Keith didn’t seem to return the sentiment. The expression on his face was neutral and mouth drawn into a thin line. “Ms. Altea, this is Lance Flores Espinosa. He’s going to be your new personal bodyguard.” 

 

Lance started to panic.  _ Personal Bodyguard?!?! _ He thought. He didn’t sign up to be a bodyguard. He signed up to be a  _ security guard, _ not a bodyguard. Especially not a personal bodyguard for Ms. Altea. 

 

This day was honestly getting weirder by the second. 

 

She gave another pleasant smile directed towards him, making him nervous. “It’s nice to meet you Lance.” Ms. Altea stood up from her seat at her desk and placed a hand out towards him for a handshake. Lance took her hand, shaking it. Her hand was surprisingly cool, he noticed. 

 

“The pleasure is all mine,” he stuttered out, cringing at how flirty it sounded. He wasn’t here to flirt with her. She was his boss for heaven’s sake! 

 

Ms. Altea was still smiling at him after they shook hands. For some weird reason, it struck him as odd that Ms. Altea was still smiling. But he didn’t know why it was weird. Behind him, he heard Keith cough. Immediately after, Ms. Altea stopped smiling, her face turning more serious, more collected, and all light left her eyes. Her mouth now was a thin line with her eyes hardened. 

 

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said curtly, “I must get back to work.” 

 

“Yes ma’m,” Keith responded obediently. He nodded his head towards Lance, a signal that they both should leave. 

 

Lance looked hesitantly at his new boss before making his way towards the door. “Good luck on your work,” he offered weakly. Ms. Altea made no response to his words and Lance frowned as left her office. Keith was right behind him, arms crossed and clearly unimpressed with either him or something else. (Lance had a feeling it was him.) 

 

“You’re free to go,” he said, surprising Lance. So he wasn’t disappointed with him. “In a week, I want you to show up to my office at 8 AM sharp and then, I’ll give you your identification band and everything else you need for the job. Also, make sure to be wearing a black suit. Anything else or you’re fired.” Lance hoped that he was joking about that last bit but the look on Keith’s face meant that it probably wasn’t. 

 

Keith was about to head towards Ms. Altea’s office, but Lance remembered to ask him something he was confused. “Keith, why am I Ms. Altea’s personal bodyguard? I applied to become a security guard.” 

 

“Part of the job of being a security guard means protecting high ranking members of Galra Tech, just like you said earlier. You wanted to protect people so you’re here to protect Ms. Altea,” Keith explained to him, looking at him like he was dumb. He added, “Also your sister Veronica said that you were one of the highest ranking in defense so I figured that since Ms. Altea was in need for a bodyguard, it ended up working out.” 

 

So it turned out security guards did protect people. He was right even though his statement was basically bullshit when he said it earlier. 

 

“Oh and you’ll be paid this much,” Keith told him, taking out a pad and writing an amount on it. Lance’s eyes widened in surprise at how much he was getting paid. Oh he was so loving this job already. 

 

“I’ll show you the rest of the building next week. See you next week Lance.” Keith turned around, opening the door to Ms. Altea’s office and closing it shut right behind him. 

 

“Right. See you next week,” Lance said to himself, pointing at air. He started heading back towards the elevator, thinking about how much he was going to get paid. Money…..it sounded so nice. Right when he pressed the elevator button and stepped inside, he had a realization about why Allura Altea seemed so off to him. 

 

She never smiled. Every picture of her in the news was a picture of her frowning, looking cross with people she encountered. And to add to that, Ms. Altea had a reputation of being cruel, yelling at the people who worked for her if they messed up or said something about her in front of her face. Ms. Altea was reported to being cruel-hearted just like the people who adopted her. 

 

So why out of all of a sudden was Ms. Altea nice to him? And then why did her personality seem to have a one-eighty after Keith coughed? 

 

\---

 

“Allura,” Keith said, with his arms crossed as he approached her desk. “What happened to everything Pidge, Hunk, and I went over?” 

 

“It is a rule to be nice to humans, especially when meeting them for the first time,” Allura stated, voice calm. 

 

He groaned, running a hand in front of his face. “Where did this rule come from?” 

 

“From Mom,” Allura responded plainly. Keith groaned once more. Why Pidge added in this rule, he had no clue, but he definitely had to talk to her getting rid of it. And a lot of other quirks that might have seemed unusual. 

 

“Allura,” he said as gently as he could, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. “Only act that way in front of me, Pidge, or Hunk. Remember, what’s the way that you act here and around Zarkon, Lotor, and Haggar? You have to do that.”

 

Just saying that brought on a whole lot of memories over the past few days. 

 

\---

 

A couple of days ago  

 

Pidge answered the door quickly, much to Keith’s disbelief. He was sort of expecting Pidge to answer the door slowly, taking her time like she did the first time they met. 

 

“Hey Keith!” Pidge greeted him, looking wide awake and functional. Her short hair was pulled back into a clip and her bangs were touching the rims of her round glasses. But Keith had to admit that it was weird seeming the younger woman so wide awake, especially at this hour. (It was only 7 AM.) He assumed that Matt’s letter had made her happy, giving her hope that Keith suspected she hadn’t had in awhile.

 

“Pidge,” he drawled out as a greeting, looking suspicious at her. 

 

“What’s with that face?” she asked him, frowning at the look he was giving her. 

 

“Why are you so awake?” 

 

“Oh that,” Pidge said, before lifting up a can of Red Bull. “I’ve been drinking this nonstop for days. Also have I mentioned that I haven’t slept either?” Okay, that would explain why she looked so awake, Keith thought. And the closer he looked at her eyes, they were rimmed with redness. 

 

“Keith!” he heard a shout behind her. It was Hunk, who was coming out of one of the rooms with a grin on his face. Keith could also see that Hunk too was sleep deprived; his movements seemed rigid and jerky even though he was wide awake. “Oh man, we’re so glad you’re here. You have got to see this.” 

 

Pidge moved aside so Keith could step inside her loft. On first glance, the loft seemed pretty clean. On a closer inspection though, Keith could see dishes stacked in the sink, all covered with grease, grime, and bits of what looked to be cheese. Some of the couch cushions were out of place, one sticking out and another was lying on the floor with a blanket thrown over it. 

 

“Are you sure it’s healthy staying up for days?” Keith asked them, noticing how their eyelids were fighting to stay open. He didn’t even know why he was asking them; back when he used to study at the Garrison, he used to stay awake for days as well, training and studying between those times. Keith only ended up in bed because, well because he forced him too. Now, he even stayed up for quite a while. So maybe, he realized, the only reason why he asked that was because he was concerned for their well-being, even if he didn’t know them that well. Hunk and Pidge (well more Pidge if he had to be honest) seemed to invest 100% into their work, not stopping unless someone forced them to. 

 

“Yeah it’s fine,” Pidge answered. She was leaning against the wall and to him, it looked like the Red Bull was wearing off despite how many cans she drank. “Hunk and I used to do this a lot in college. Although he would pass out earlier than I would, drooling on my carpet.” 

 

“Hey!” Hunk yelled in defense. 

 

She only shrugged her shoulders with a nonchalant look on her face. “It was true. Anyways,” she said, changing the subject and putting the can down on the nearest flat surface. “Come along Kogane, we have something to show you.” 

 

He followed Pidge’s retreating form into a room that was right next door to her bedroom and was met with darkness. Keith couldn’t see a thing, well until Hunk turned on the light. The room’s floor was covered by a bunch of wires that connected to various monitors and computers on two desks. In the opposite side of the room was a person standing upright on a table of some sorts. The table almost resembled a hospital table. 

 

But the person on the table shocked him. 

 

It was Allura. 

 

Somehow Pidge and Hunk had managed to capture every little tiny detail about Allura’s features. Her hair was the same, unique shade of white and there were freckled dusted across her face just exactly how it looked on the real Allura. Seeing this clone of Allura was a harsh reminder that the real Allura’s life was on the life. 

 

“So,” Pidge asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. She was standing close to him, observing his face. “What do you think?” 

 

“It looks exactly like her,” Keith breathed out. “How? How did you guys even?” 

 

“It was simple,” Hunk started, leaning against the doorframe. Simple, my ass, Keith thought. If it was that simple, why did they have to have sleepless nights? “We had to print out a new skin for the AI, since we used a previous model. That model had lighter skin and different hair and stuff so we-” 

 

Pidge cut him off. “Enough, enough Hunk. I’m pretty sure Keith probably wouldn’t understand a lot of the things we did.” She was right. He wouldn’t understand the things they did. 

 

She turned to him, a mischievous smile etched out on her face. “You want to see how Voltron Allura works right?” 

 

“Voltron Allura?” 

 

“Yeah,” Hunk nodded his head, answering for Pidge. “We named her Voltron Allura because her father originally wanted to name the company that but then Zarkon wanted it under his name. So this is sort of a way of honoring him.” 

 

Keith remembered that story well. Allura’s father wanted to name the company Voltron, as it was a name of unity and new beginnings, something that he believed his new company would represent. However, Zarkon believed Voltron wouldn’t get enough of a reputation within the ever growing technology community. He then presented using his last name as the name for their new company, stating that the name would represent the power that they needed to dominate the technology world. Alfor ended up agreeing, only because he knew Zarkon wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

 

“It’s a good name,” Keith ended up commenting. Hunk tiredly smiled while Pidge beamed. 

 

“Glad you think so,” she said, moving towards one of the computers. Pidge typed in a few things on the keyboard, nails clicking againsts the keys. Then she finally hit one last key before moving back towards him and Hunk, a watch in hand. Keith watched as both she and Hunk were grinning at the clone version of Allura and he turned his face to look at it as well. 

 

From the looks of it, Voltron Allura was powering up, her body enveloped by a glowing blue light. And then she opened her eyes, a non-harsh light coming out from her eyes. Her eyes reminded him a lot of his Allura’s eyes and for a moment Keith confused this Allura for the one who was in a coma in the Czech Republic. But then he was reminded that his Allura didn’t need to be strapped to a table to power up. 

 

Voltron Allura’s restraints lifted up, freeing her arms, shoulders, and legs. She stepped away from the table, moving towards him, Pidge, and Hunk. For some weird reason, he took a step back. He was aware that Pidge and Hunk were throwing him confused looks but he couldn’t help it. 

 

How would you feel if you saw a robot duplicate of your friend? 

 

Oh wait, he was the one who asked them to create a robot duplicate of Allura so Galra Tech wouldn’t get suspicious of her disappearance. So Allura would still be able to fight for her deceased parents, to make sure their deaths wouldn’t be in vain. To take down Galra Tech from the inside. Shame then spread through his insides, filling every tight corner to the deepest parts of his heart. 

 

He saw Pidge move towards Voltron Allura, placing the watch over her left wrist (He would soon later learn that it was her battery). Voltron Allura was giving Pidge an innocent expression, a face Keith hadn’t seen for a long time. 

 

“Hello Voltron Allura,” Pidge said, looking the AI directly in the eye. 

 

“Hello. I am an AI, Voltron Allura 1,” she introduced herself. God, this was getting too weird for Keith. Voltron Allura even sounded like the regular Allura. 

 

“Who am I?” 

 

“You are…” Voltron Allura paused, her eyes starting to cast a faraway look despite her focus still being on Pidge. 

 

Hunk nudged him. “She’s looking up Pidge in her database,” he explained to him. “She literally has a computer in her brain and can look up things whenever she wants or feels the need to. She also has photographic memory so if we ever need to, we can pull out images from her system.” Keith nodded his head at Hunk’s explanation. 

 

“You are Mom,” Voltron Allura finally stated after a short moment. Pidge looked slightly uncomfortable at the name and Keith could understand why. She was only 21, not ready for the life of parenthood yet here she was with her robotic child. 

 

Somehow Pidge caught on to his staring. “Yeah I know,” she said sheepishly, fixing her glasses. “I have to go in and change it. Must’ve been an error on my part. Who’s this?” Pidge pointed to Hunk who seemed to be beaming at Voltron Allura. 

 

“That is..Uncle Hunk.” 

 

“Aw yeah!” Hunk shouted in glee, a frown forming on his face. He turned to Keith, “I programmed her to call me Uncle Hunk.” 

 

“And who is this?” Voltron Allura turned to him with a slight frown on her face. “I cannot find his name on my databases. I only have videos of this man but there is no audio recording along with this.” 

 

“Oh, this is Keith Kogane!” Pidge told her. “He’s a new friend of ours. He works for Galra Tech and he needs your help with something.”

 

“What do you need my help with?” Voltron Allura asked him innocently. “I can detect any lie and I can hack into any computer system in the world.” 

 

“What?” Keith asked, astonished at the capabilities Voltron Allura had. 

 

“Did you need me to repeat again? I can-” she started by Pidge stopped her, cutting her off and giving her an explanation to what Keith meant. 

 

“We had that within Shiro 3 as well,” Hunk said. “Except Voltron Allura is more of a learning robot. Everything that is taught to her is stored within her memory. With Shiro 3, it had to be rules that were installed into him, pieces of code.” 

 

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen the other AI, Shiro 3, in the past hour. Weirdly enough, he found himself asking about him. 

 

“Oh I left him in my room. I noticed the last time you were here, you seemed uncomfortable with him. As if he were a ghost to you,” Pidge said, looking downwards and almost looking ashamed. What for, he wasn’t sure. 

 

But yes, Shiro 3 was almost like a ghost to him. He was a reminder of the past relationship he shared with the actual Shiro, except Shiro 3 had no clue of who he was and there was no regretful, longing stares coming his way. 

 

“I thought it would be better if you didn’t see him,” she continued on. 

 

Pidge was really thoughtful (not to mention observant) and it made him smile a bit, knowing that she thought of him. “Thanks Pidge.” 

 

“Mhmm,” she nodded her head. “Alright, so Voltron Allura, we need you to act like Allura Altea, one of the higher-ups of Galra Tech.” 

 

Voltron Allura stilled, her eyes once again casting a far-away look, an indicator of her searching up things. “Allura Altea?” she asks, tilting her head at the incoming information flooding into her brain. 

 

“Yeah. We modeled you after her because-” 

 

Keith cut her off. “I need you to take Allura’s place in the company.” 

 

“Why?” Voltron Allura’s head was still tilted, a confused expression lacing her delicate features. How Pidge and Hunk managed to make her look so like a human still baffled him. 

 

“Allura fell into a coma because a truck hit her. By taking her place in the company, you’ll be able to help her avenge her parents deaths’ and stop whatever Zarkon and his family is planning because they’re planning something awful,” Keith explained urgently. 

 

“Do you think you can do it?” Pidge asked, a worried expression on her face as she turned to Voltron Allura. 

 

“Don’t you think we’re asking too much of her guys?” Hunk injected. He looked unsure. “I mean, it’s a lot to ask of a robot who was basically just born today. She still needs time to adjust.” 

 

“Then we’ll give her time. I do need to teach her how to act. By the way she’s acting now, there’s no way that she could pose as Allura. Lotor’s going to know that something is up and we can’t have that,” Keith countered back, a little frustrated and not caring that he insulted the robot. He turned to look at Voltron Allura, who gave no indication of being offended by his words. 

 

“He’s right Hunk. In order to make sure no one gets hurt, Voltron Allura has to pretend to be Allura,” Pidge agreed. He was a little surprised that Pidge would agree with him. If he had to be honest, he thought she would be offended that he insulted her creation. Or maybe she just hadn’t noticed. 

 

“I guess we should start teaching her now,” Hunk said but breaking out into a big yawn, leaning once more on the doorframe with his eyelids fluttering. Pidge nodded, slightly tilting over in tiredness. 

 

Voltron Allura looked at both of them worridley and she took Hunk’s hand in her own. “You have high levels of caffeine within your system and your blood pressure and heart rate is high. There are also lots of sugar within you, meaning that eventually you are going to throw up soon.” 

 

Hunk’s face started to turn a little green; his eyes watered and his cheeks puffed out. He rushed out of the room and Voltron Allura followed him. 

 

“What just happened?” Keith asked, eyebrow raised as he turned towards Pidge. 

 

“All of the AI’s I’ve built are health-care robots. They were based off of designs Matt left in his room and he wanted to build robots that could blend in with humans so that at any moment’s notice, they could come in to rescue them,” she explained tiredly. Now it seemed like the caffeine was wearing off and unlike Hunk, it didn’t seem like she was going to throw up soon. Rather it looked like she was going to fall over in exhaustion. 

 

“You should sleep,” Keith found himself saying in worry. He really didn’t want to deal with Pidge falling over. 

 

“Nah,” Pidge said shaking her head. “I don’t want to ruin my circadian rhythm. If I fall asleep now, then tomorrow I’m going to wake up in the morning and then everything will be thrown off. I can manage.” 

 

Keith shook his head, taking in her state. “I don’t think so.” 

 

“You’re wrong. I’m fine.” Her voice was starting to have an edge to it, annoyed with him countering her. 

 

“You’re not, Pidge. You’re about to fall over.” 

 

“No I’m not.” 

 

“Yes you are,” he fired back. 

 

“Not.” 

 

“Pidge, just go to sleep. I’ll wake you up in an hour,” he said, trying to bargain with her. Pidge gave him one of the most stubbornest looks ever and he returned the look. It was getting more frustrating, having to deal with Pidge and her stubbornness. “I’ll work with Voltron Allura while you and Hunk get some rest.” 

 

Pidge stared at him for another good minute before conceding. “Fine,” she said, her eyelids drooping. “Wake me up in an hour. No, two. And please don’t break anything inside my loft. And emo boy,” she started, turning around to look at him before leaving the room. “You better promise me that you’ll wake me up.”

 

Emo boy? Did he look emo to her? Shaking those thoughts away, he answered, “I will Pidge.” 

 

Giving a content nod, Pidge walked off to her room, lightly closing the door behind her. Keith walked out the room to find Voltron Allura placing a blanket over Hunk’s sleeping form on the couch. She really was a healthcare robot. 

 

“Okay Voltron Allura,” he said to her and she looked up at him immediately. “How to act like Allura Altea starts now.” 

 

She gave him a nod and he took out a small rectangular piece out from his coat pocket. “This is-” 

 

“It’s a virtual simulator,” Voltron Allura finished for him. “It’s one of the latest versions released by Galra Tech and features high definition scenarios that the user inputs.” 

 

“How’d you know that?” 

 

“I was able to see the model online based on what my scanners has told me,” Voltron Allura explained. “I-” 

 

“Never mind,” Keith said shaking his head, knowing that very well that Voltron Allura could go into a tangent about how she identified how she knew what it was, the types of models that there were, etc. He only knew this because it had seen a lot of this in Pidge, even if he hadn’t known her for that long. 

 

After punching in a few commands into the device, he set it down on the coffee table. Immediately he and Voltron Allura were transported into another world; Hunk and the rest of Pidge’s loft melted away, the new world taking over. 

 

This digital reality transported both of them inside Allura’s office within Galra Tech’s building. The blinds were shut, blocking out any light from the outside world to come in. The room itself was very dark, a contrast to how Allura normally liked being in the room. 

 

“What I need you to do Voltron Allura is to sit in that chair,” Keith instructed her, pointing at the chair behind the desk. “The way Allura acts at work is completely a one-eighty from how you act. So you got to pretend to be mean, cold, and reject anything that people have to offer you.” 

 

“Mean?” Voltron Allura’s brows drew together. “Being mean is not in my programming.” 

 

“Well I’m adding it now,” Keith dropped into of the chairs, turning it around so that he could lean on the backside of the chair. “You have to understand that if something goes wrong when you’re in her place, human Allura will be in great danger. So be mean.” 

 

“Is she mean in real life?” Voltron Allura asked, a curious lift to her voice. It was the first time he had heard Voltron Allura, or any AI Pidge and Hunk created, seem curious about something. “Mom doesn’t like associating with mean people. She says that they hurt you.” 

 

Keith almost asked how she knew that Pidge said that. It almost seemed impossible for her to know that since Voltron Allura had been turned on for the first time today. What even piqued his interest more was why Pidge said that. But he dismissed the thoughts from his head, focusing on the more important thing.    
  


Getting Voltron Allura to act like Allura at work. 

 

“She isn’t. But she does this to make sure that her adoptive family doesn’t suspect anything. So when someone comes in, you need to be mean. Don’t smile, just scoff or something.” 

 

“Scoff?” Oh boy, this was going to be harder than he thought. 

 

“Here, try handing me something. I’ll pretend to be Allura.” Voltron Allura handed him a stack of virtual papers to him and he looked over them, flipping through the pages. He then made of the most disgusted faces he could think of, his eyebrows lowered and anger burning through his eyes. He threw the papers back at Voltron Allura, who stared at the papers thrown at her with wide eyes but with no emotion behind them. 

 

“This is unacceptable,” he said to her, pretending to be Allura with false anger running through his veins. “The projects don’t have the suggested budget and there is no estimate on when it’s supposed to launch.” 

 

His eyes then softened as he spoke to the robot in front of him. “Does that make sense to you?” 

 

Voltron Allura stared at him, nodding her head after a while. “I think so.” 

 

“Okay, let’s begin then.” He pressed a button on a remote he had in his hand, starting the stimulation. 

 

When they started, she acted just like Keith expected her to. She’d be too kind to everyone (including Lotor), giving pleasant smiles to telling them nicely that their plans didn’t fit the projects and so on. She even suggested edits to some of the proposals and that was definitely something human Allura would  _ not _ do. 

 

After a few days (and him, Hunk and Pidge’s constant reminders), Voltron Allura was seemingly ready. She was more cool, acting callously towards the virtual versions of her adoptive family and other co-workers Keith warned her about. She’d rejret the proposals, paperwork, and budgets given to her with the flick of her wrist, disappointment clear on her face. Voltron Allura even got down the scoff human Allura would give. It was impressive how much progress they made in the past few days. 

 

But now it was time to put her in the heat of the danger. 

 

\---

 

A week later 

 

Oh boy. 

 

Lance was going to be in so much trouble. He had groggily woken up at 7:20 AM, after hearing the incessant beeping of his alarm and much to his alarm, he realized that he was supposed to be up at 7 AM. Galra Tech was almost a thirty minute commute from his and Veronica’s shared apartment and that was if he had the car for the day. (Veronica had promised she’d leave the car for him, but she was sometimes forgetful about these things.) 

 

“Ahhhhhh!” he screamed aloud. Jumping out of bed, he quickly went to the bathroom, showered (he didn’t want to smell on his first day - impressions were always important), brushed his teeth, sprayed his cologne, and hurriedly put on his new, crisp black suit he and Veronica chose together. (It made him look super hot; Veronica didn’t really have an opinion.) 

 

When he got out to the kitchen, Veronica was not there. Instead she had left a note, wishing him good luck on his first day and to tell him all about it later. And much to his delight, she had left the car keys for him, which were conveniently placed right next to his sister’s note. After grabbing the car keys and toast (bless his sister for putting it in the toaster for him), he ran down the stairs and into the parking garage to where the car was. 

 

Getting into the car and starting it up was easy. 

 

The getting through traffic part was not. 

 

It was  _ really _ slow. Cars were lined up, barely moving and all around him he could hear car horns going off. The minutes were passing, inching towards 8 AM and Lance was growing more anxious each second. He had to be there before 8 AM (well, he knew that deep down that he wasn’t going to make it but a boy could keep hoping right?) and he really didn’t want to be late on his first day. 

 

Then 25 minutes later, Lance had finally reached Galra Tech, parking his car within the garage. Frantically, he pushed the button for the elevator to go up to Floor 5 (after having to explain to the front desk that he did not have his identification and that Keith had it). He tapped his foot impatiently, glaring down at the watch on his left wrist. 7:55 AM, it read. He let out a little sigh of relief, tugging at the bracelet his Abuelita gave to him. He was going to make it, he wasn’t going to let Keith down and get that disappointing glare from him. 

 

The elevator dinged, signaling it had reached the designated floor that Lance had asked for. Walking out, he tried to walk with swagger, hoping to give off the impression he knew what he was doing and hopefully impress any ladies that were on the floor.  _ You look cool Lance,  _ he thought to himself.  _ So now you gotta act cool - _

 

Before he could finish his thought, he bumped into something hard, causing him to fall over on his back. “Ow,” he muttered aloud. Did he walk into a wall or something? 

 

He looked up to see if he crashed into a wall but no. It turned out to be none other than the person he was supposed to be guarding, staring down at him worridley, her white hair draping over the sides of her face. 

 

“Are you alright?” she asked him concerned. 

 

“Huh me?” Lance pointed at himself, then regretted it. He put his hand down and stood up quickly. He tried to come up with something cool, something that would make Ms. Altea forget that he fell over. “Well you see, Ms. Altea, because you’re so beautiful, I just had to fall over to get a look at your beauty.”  _ Nice one Lance _ . 

 

“My beauty?” Ms. Altea tilted her head a tiny bit, a puzzled expression crossing over her face. “That is something that humans say to other humans.” 

 

_ What? _ His own face scrunched up in confusion. “Well yeah. You’re human too Ms. Altea….” Lance trailed off, thinking about how weird her response was. 

 

Ms. Altea didn’t seem to have a look of anger, which seemed odd. She seemed like she was thinking his comment through. “I will keep that in mind.” Giving him a nod, she proceeded to walk towards her office, radiating confidence and power with each step she took. 

 

Although he was in awe of her beauty (and who wouldn’t be? Allura Altea was  _ gorgeous _ ), he couldn’t help but think,  _ What the hell just happened? _ The whole entire interaction with her was odd and nothing like the way he saw her act in videos. 

 

Maybe it was an off day for her he decided. Looking down at his watch, to his horror, it read that it was 7:59. 

 

Oh no. 

 

He prayed that he would make it to Keith’s office in time. Lance really didn’t want to deal with that jerk (who was his boss as well) to give him that glare of disappointment. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. for the first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen to the song here: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAKbiAxGhC4

_For the first time_

_It’s my first time_

_You came to me like a dream_

_That person is so beautiful_

_Without knowing, I keep looking_

 

_For the first time_

_For the first time_

_I’m only looking at one person_

_That person is you_

_The person I love is you_

_The person I love is you_

 

\---

 

“You’re late” is the first thing Lance heard from Keith as he entered his office. Lance glanced up to the clock, seeing the time was 8:01. He groaned, running a hand over his face.

 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized to Keith, who was sitting behind his desk, going through paperwork and not looking up at him. “I bumped into Ms. Altea on the way here. It was why I was late.”

 

Keith didn’t seem to acknowledge his words. The face he was making gave no indication of whether he believed him or not. He wrote a few things, glancing at the computer before scribbling down whatever it was that he was looking at. Lance peeked at Keith’s handwriting to find that it literally looked like chicken scratch.

 

His boss finally decided to look up at him with a neutral expression on his face. He held out an plastic ziploc bag to him, filled with his earpiece, his identification band, and other stuff. Wait what that a gun? He blinked at disbelief at the weapon, gaping like a fish.

 

His boss frowned at his face. Apparently he must’ve seen that face because he gave an explanation to him about having it. “Yeah. You know if you have a threat who’s trying to shoot you and the person you’re trying to guard…..you need it. And when you shoot, you have to be on target.” Honestly Keith sounded so awkward trying to explain to him why he needed a gun. Lance then classified in his brain that Keith was not really a people-person.

 

Lance shook away his gaping fish face and tried to put on a “more confident, I know how to use this” kind of face. “I knew that.” He really didn’t.

 

“It should be easy to use,” Lance said, glancing at it. It really did look simple in comparison to the snipers the Garrison had them train with. “They didn’t call me sharpshooter at the Garrison for nothing.”

 

“Sharpshooter huh?” Keith asked. “Then I’ll see if you actually shoot on target when the time comes. If you’re wrong, then I’m taking it away from you.”

 

Lance honesty could not tell if he was joking or not. He decided for the former despite there being no change in Keith’s face. He picked up the bag, putting the earpiece in his ear, the gun in a holster, and fastened the band around his right wrist, as he already had a bracelet on his left. The design for the band looked sort of dark and mysterious, not to mention emo. But then again it seemed to reflect

the color palette of the company’s CEO, Zarkon, who continuously wore dark and ominous colors.

 

“So what’s the agenda for today boss?” he asked once he was all done putting on his necessary additions.

 

Keith stared at him like he was joking. “Your job to take care of Ms. Altea.”

 

“No, no,” Lance waved his arms in front of him, trying to signal that wasn’t what he meant. “I meant are there any big events or something Ms. Altea has to be present at?”

 

“Oh that.” Keith turned his attention towards his desk, shuffling through various papers there until he finally picked up one. He handed it to him, “This is Ms. Altea’s schedule for today. For the next few hours, she’ll just be with her team discussing the course of action for their project and all you just need to do is stand there and make sure that nothing is going wrong. The she has a press conference that presents the G car to the world at 3PM. After that, there’s a reception to celebrate it at Vrepit Sal’s, this bar next door to the conference building. You don’t need to be there for the reception, but you can just hang around if you like. I’ll watch over Ms. Altea then.”

 

Man his job seemed easy. All he had to do was watch Ms. Altea and that was it. And did he just get an invitation to party? Ohohoho yes he was going to that. Maybe he could pick up some hot girls along the way while getting wasted on the most expensive and luxurious alcohol the company could afford.

 

While Lance was busy contemplating his plans for later that evening, he didn’t notice Keith clearing his throat. “Lance!” he shouted, finally capturing his attention.

 

“Oh, um, sorry!” That was really awkward. Not paying attention to his boss and on the very first day. Not only was it awkward, he decided, it was also really bad. On the inside, he was cringing on how much he had messed up in the last 30 minutes. “I was not, nevermind.”

 

Keith shook his head, muttering under his breath. “Go watch over Ms. Altea,” he said, once again going through the papers on his desk and turning his attention towards his computer.

 

“Yes sir!” Lance said automatically. He left the room quickly, grateful to get out of the very awkward room. Making his way through the halls and towards Ms. Altea’s office, he passed various people on the way there. As he glanced at each one of them, he noticed that they were all dressed very sharply, very businesslike. They were very quiet, talking in hushed whispers and hunched forms. To top it all off, they all looked very smart. _Veronica would thrive in this type of environment_ , Lance thought. But him? He wasn’t very smart (well not in academics) and he didn’t think he could sit around in a boring office all day.

 

Maybe this bodyguard thing would work out. Technically he would be moving around, not necessarily sitting down all the time.

 

He finally reached Ms. Altea’s office, knocking softly and entering quietly. “Hello ma'am,” he said to her, bowing before making his way to stand next to her desk.

 

Ms. Altea didn’t look up at him at first as she was analyzing stuff on the tablet. Once she was done, she turned to look at him and there was no hint of surprise in her voice. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, turning back to her work.

 

Lance raised his eyebrow at this. Ms. Altea seemed so different than how she was minutes earlier with him. Earlier she seemed…..kinder.

 

“You’re….” she started, waving her hand around with her face scrunched up. It seemed like she was trying to remember his name but was failing. “You’re Lance.”

 

He was honestly surprised she remembered. Lance would’ve thought people like her wouldn’t have the time nor the energy to think about remembering names of people like him. But she did surprisingly. He took back about what he thought earlier about her. Maybe she was just busy with work.

 

“Yeah,” he said nodding his head. She nodded her head back in return before turning back to the work in front of her.

 

Ten minutes later, after not doing anything, he piped up, breaking the silence in her office. “Ms Altea, did you need anything? Tea, coffee, bread?”

 

“No thank you,” she answered, focus still on her work.

 

“Did you need any help with any work?”

 

“No thank you.”

 

Nodding his head, he fixed his posture and went back to just watching her. After a few seconds, Lance realized he was bored. What was he going to do? Just stand there watching her work? It dawned on him that this was what he was supposed to do. He was keeping an eye on Ms. Altea and if keeping an eye on her meant just watching her work, then that was all he was going to do.

 

And it was going to be really boring until the press conference happened. Until then, Lance just had the comforts of the blue bracelet on his wrist to keep him occupied.

 

\---

 

Hours later (and obviously a lunch break), Lance followed Ms. Altea towards the press conference. He couldn’t help but think she seemed a little too quiet as they walked to the room where dozens of reporters, shareholders, and the Galra family would be waiting to hear her plans.

 

“Are you nervous?” he asked her, looking slightly down at her to gauge her reaction.

 

Her face revealed nothing of how she was feeling or thinking. “Why would I be nervous? I don’t have emotions,” she said to him, her voice slightly confused as he started to reach down for the door handle of the room.

 

“What?” he couldn’t help but ask aloud. This was the second time in one day that she said something like this to him and it was quite weird. Why would an average human say that they didn’t have emotions? Was it because she thought of herself higher than all the humans out there? (He wouldn’t blame her. Her looks were absolutely killer and he would instantly do anything to get her to fall for him. Well, if she wasn’t his boss who could potentially fire him.) Did she think of herself as a goddess because of her status, money and power?

 

“I-” she started to say, looking at him directly in the eye before a person came behind them, interrupting whatever she was going to say.

 

“Ms. Altea,” the person said to her, an earpiece outstretched in her hand. “Here’s the earpiece that you’ll wear for the press conference.”

 

“No need,” Ms. Altea responded with the shake of her head. “I have it all memorized.”

 

“You do?” The person’s reaction was genuine, shocked at hearing she had it all memorized. “But you usually-”

 

“Lance.” Ms. Altea made a motion for him to open the door, ignoring whatever the person was going to continue with. He did so and she made her way into the conference room and as soon as she entered, flashes of light suddenly went off and whispers went all around through the room. Lance discreetly entered behind her, soon making his way behind the audience in

the room. He saw a familiar face hiding in the back and he made his way towards them.

 

“Anything that happened?” Keith asked him as he stared dead ahead at Allura’s form walking towards the stage.

 

“No, nothing special.” Well there was something special, at least to him. It was Ms. Altea’s weird attitude that stood out to him. Keith gave a grunt of some sorts in response and Lance nodded his head, looking straight at the presentation.

 

He had to admit, Ms. Altea looked confident in what she was about to do, no hint of nervousness or anxiety written in her expression or body language. Everything about her stance screamed that she was ready to take on the challenge.

 

“Welcome to Galra Tech’s annual press conference,” she announced with a smile on her face. “I know what you’re all thinking. You think that Galra is going to announce upgrades to their already existing technology. Well that is true of course.” The audience chuckled at her words and she had a hint of a smile on her face.

 

Ms. Altea continued on, “But today, we’re here to present something much bigger than technological upgrades. We’re here to talk about the future.” Behind her screens came to life, videos of everyday life projected on each screen.

 

“Everyday, we live normal lives using cars and other forms of other forms of transportation to get to our destinations.” Videos of cars, buses, trucks, and other motor vehicles popped up and Lance was surprised that this presentation had so much video to it. But then again, it was his first press conference for anything.

 

“Over the last year however, car crashes have reached an all time high and the percentage of deaths by car crashes increased as well. This of course isn’t a good thing.” Ms. Altea took a step to the side of the stage she was standing on. “But Galra Tech has a solution to solve this problem.”

 

After she said that statement, the screens opened and revealed a car.

 

The G Car.

 

Gasps went around the room, more flashes went off, and there were lots of talking going all around. Lance turned to look at Keith, who was currently staring at three figures at the front of the room.

 

He followed his gaze to see that Zarkon Galra was actually at this press conference, looking impressed with what Ms. Altea was presenting. Lance was honestly surprised to see Mr. Galra there; he would’ve thought he would be doing other things, like sipping his very expensive vodka in his private office. Right next to him, he could see Mr. Galra’s wife, Honerva, hiding behind a black veil. There were rumors that Lance heard about the mysterious wife of the CEO, varying from her hating sunlight and being a witch to getting failed botox or plastic surgery. And the last person in that group was their son, Lotor, known for his abrasiveness and his good looks. His hair was sleek and long and dyed an interesting shade of white, similar to how Ms. Altea’s hair was. While hers was a natural sort of white, his hair color popped out more. On his face, a neutral expression marked his face as he stared at his adoptive sister presenting Galra Tech’s newest invention. Out of the Galra family, the news and the media considered Lotor an enigma, never knowing what the man would do next.

 

“This is the G car,” Ms. Altea stated as the car moved out, going at a speed of probably 0 miles per hour. “It’s a driverless car that senses motion all around it, promptly helping to avoid collisions and people. This type of car could help us, from navigating its way towards destinations we don’t know how to get to or to get us to hospitals when we are in need of medical assistance.”

 

The car was then revolving around on a platform so the audience could see the entire car. On the screens, it showed the interior of the car and blueprints for the car and Lance had to admit this was impressive.

 

Ms. Altea motioned towards the screen. “This looks like your average car but it isn’t. Instead of having a full circular wheel, the G car has a wheel that is like a half-moon.” The screen showed the wheel of the car and how it moved on its own.

 

The press conference continued on for another hour with Ms. Altea everything about the car to the shareholders, reporters, and the rest of the audience. Lance surprisingly didn’t fall asleep; everything she was saying piqued his interest and it made him wish he was smart enough to create stuff like that. However, when Lance took a glance at Keith, he had his eyes deadset on the Galra family more than Ms. Altea.

 

“Thank you all for coming to today’s press conference,” Ms. Altea said with a smile on her face once the presentation ended.

 

There was a big applause for her and the newest piece of technology, which included Mr. and Mrs. Galra clapping along as well. (Well Mrs. Galra was lightly tapping her hand. Did that even count as a clap?, he wondered.) Lotor had his arms crossed, still frowning at Ms. Altea. Lance could only wonder what was his problem with her and he instantly decided he didn’t want to know. For all he could know, the Galras could have had this crazy family drama and while it seemed like it would be interesting, it would be very complicated and crazy and he didn’t want to get involved.

 

Reporters were all shuffling towards Ms. Altea, hounding her for answers about questions they had concerning the G-car or the company in general.

 

“C’mon,” Keith said next to him, tugging on his arm to get him to follow him. They both headed towards the stage and Keith was already pushing through the throng of reporters who were basically yelling to get Ms. Altea’s attention. He followed suit, yelling out “excuse me” and “pardon me” as he tried to reach Ms. Altea.

 

“Allura! What is your statement on becoming Zarkon’s new successor?” he heard a reporter shout out to her, mic held firm in their hand. Lance looked to see Ms. Altea’s face to gauge her reaction. Instead he saw her blinking owlishly at the reporter, as if she didn’t understand the question.

 

“What?” she asked them.

 

“There’s a rumor going around saying that-”

 

“Enough!” a accented voice called out. If Lance didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought the person sounded furious. He, Keith, and Allura turned to see none other than Lotor himself walking towards them, eyes burning with anger. “She heard your question alright. There is going to be no talk of who is taking over as the CEO of the company as my father is the still the rightful CEO. You all may leave now while I’m acting politely.”

 

He had a menacing glare in his eyes which promptly dispersed the group of reporters. There was no doubt that this would headline tomorrow’s news. Lance could already see it already, “Lotor and Allura: Refusing to talk about future CEO”.

 

“What was that?” Lotor barked angrily at Ms. Altea, who stood there. She didn’t even flinch at Lotor’s tone.

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she scoffed, eyes narrowing. “If anything I should be asking you that. What was that for?”

 

“You have no idea what you just did. You embarrassed me in front of father. I was supposed to present the car, not you.”

 

“I did what I had to,” Ms. Altea responded coolly. “Seeing as you didn’t know what you were even going to be talking about anyways.” From the corner of his eye, he could see Keith, who was standing protectively behind Allura, smirking.

 

“You!” Now Lotor was full on furious, fire blazing in his eyes. He took a step towards her but seeing as she was unafraid, all of a sudden he turned to him. “Who’s this?”

 

Nobody answered him and he had to yell to get them to tell him. “Answer me!”

 

“I’m Lance, sir,” he said, bowing to him. He internally groaned. He didn’t know why he was bowing to these people, even if they were jerks. “I’m Ms. Altea’s bodyguard.”

 

“New bodyguard, eh? Seeing as I cannot touch her, you’re going to have to be the one to take the hits for her.”

 

Then, Lotor swung his hand at him, making contact with the delicate skin on his cheek. It stung, sharp and painful. Lance winced as he raised his hand and touched the tender flesh, making his eyes water. He could see Keith looking concerned, full on ready to fight Lotor, while Ms. Altea’s eyes widened at the sight in front of her, as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened.

 

“Is that all you got?” Lance defiantly asked him, looking up at the man who slapped him even though tears of pain were threatening to leak out. He didn’t know he was going against a man who could easily fire him. No one ever just hit him and got away with it.

 

“Why you!” Lotor raised his hand up to strike him once more but another voice rang out, stopping Lotor from slapping him.

 

“Lotor that’s enough!” an older man’s voice shouted and his voice was a lot deeper than Lotor’s. It was his father, with his mother on his arm, looking oddly pleased as they approached them. “You need to stop it,” he hissed as he got closer. “You’re going to make a scene and we don’t want that do we? Especially on a day as important as today.”

 

Lotor’s eyes narrowed and he glared at his father. “No we don’t,” he said with gritted teeth before walking away.

 

“Good job today Allura,” Mr. Galra said as he passed by the three of them, his voice deep with admiration and maybe even a tiny hint of pride. Mrs. Galra only nodded her head.

 

Soon as they were out of earshot, Keith and Ms. Altea turned towards him. “Are you okay?” Keith asked him, putting an arm on his shoulder.

 

“Yeah I’m fine,” Lance responded, still holding on to his cheek. “Do they always do that? Use other people for their punching bags?”

 

Keith nodded his head but didn’t say anything to add to his question. Lance then wondered what Keith had gone through, making him feel for the man even though he acted all high and mighty.

 

When Lance turned to look at Ms. Altea, she was staring at him, concern still in her eyes. Then she finally said to him, blue eyes still staring him straight in the eye, “You’re upset.”

 

“Hmm? Well, yeah sort of? My cheek kind of hurts but I’ll be - mmphmm!”

 

Ms. Altea threw her arms around him, shocking him. Why was she hugging him? Did he say something?

 

“Rule Number One,” she stated, as if she was reading it off a cue card or something. “Always hug someone when they’re upset.” Lance looked weirdly at the back of her head as she hugged him tightly. Even though it was a nice hug (who was he kidding, it was a great hug), it was still weird that she was doing this. And it was even weirder that she was being nice to him and him alone. (He actually hadn’t seen her or Keith interacting so he actually didn’t know if he was the only one who she was nice to.)

 

“Allura,” Keith said to her in a low whisper. “Not here.” Reporters were starting to notice that they were hugging and they immediately rushed over, bright lights quickly going off and filling his peripheral vision. She broke away from him and he felt the loss of her body against his very quickly.

 

Ms. Altea was about to speak once more but Keith took her arm and dragged her away. Lance frowned, confused at why Keith dragged her away but even more confused at why she hugged him. He decided to follow them, denying any questions from the reporters as he walked in the direction where they had left. Lance didn’t know if he was supposed to follow them or not, but he decided as his duty as Ms. Altea’s bodyguard, he should follow her to make sure if she was alright.

 

Finally after leaving the press room, he could hear voices from another hallway with one voice partially raised. It sounded like Keith. Lance turned that corner to reach that hallway where he heard those voices but he didn’t see anyone there. However, he still heard people talking and he assumed they snuck into a room to have a conversation.

 

He approached one of the room and he could easily point out Keith’s voice, as Keith’s voice was raised. “Allura, you can’t go around hugging every person you see.”

 

“I don’t,” Ms. Altea responded. In contrast to Keith’s voice, it was very calm, almost monotone. “I only hug people when they are upset and they need comforting. It’s part of my protocol.” _Protocol?_ Lance’s eyes widened. What was this?

 

“Well I need you stop hugging people when they’re upset,” Keith sighed. “If you hug people when they’re upset, it’s going to cause suspicion, just like it did earlier in the press room.” _Suspicion?_ So many red flags were raised in his head right now and he had so many questions swirling around in his head. What was going on between Keith and Allura that prevented her from hugging people? He heard them approaching the door and he quietly snuck off down the hall, towards the way he came.

 

Lance pretended to be wandering aimlessly, trying to look for them as they exited the room. “Hey! There you guys are!” he rushed over to them, feigning surprise.

 

Keith looked mad and he even sounded mad as he spoke. “You’re dismissed for the day Serrano. You’re free to go to the reception.”

 

“Oh really? Sweet!” he said, breaking out into a huge grin. Honestly the reception sounded like a nice distraction from everything he had gone through within the last few hours. From being slapped to getting a weird (but nice!) hug from the person he was protecting (who was also good looking) to overhearing conversations that he shouldn’t have heard, yeah it was quite eventful for a first day. And kind of overwhelming the more he thought about it.

 

Then he realized he was still standing in front of Keith and Ms. Altea, with both of still staring at him. “Well,” he said pointing towards the exit, “I think I’ll take my leave. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

 

He walked quickly towards the way he came and once he was out of sight of the two, he leant against the wall and let out a huge breath he didn’t know he was holding.

 

 _So what was it that Keith and Ms. Altea were really hiding?_ He thought.

 

\---

 

This party was lit, Lance had to admit. Galra Tech really knew how to party. They had gotten the really expensive booze and booked one of the most lit bars in the entire city. And there were pretty girls all around. It was just what he was hoping for.

 

“Hey,” he said lifting an eyebrow to a woman passing by him. “How you doing?” The woman giggled, stopping her walk and deciding to talk to him. He fist pumped on the inside as she took a seat next to him at the bar. He hoped that his outfit would attract women; it was basically just what he wore today minus the suit jacket and rolled up sleeves of his dress shirt. He also lost the gun and the earpiece, as he left them both at work.

 

“I’m great,” she responded in a sultry voice and batted her eyelashes at him. On her breath, he could smell the alcohol she drank. It kind of turned him off but he wouldn’t pass on an opportunity to flirt with a woman.

 

“Is your name Google? Because you’re the answer to everything I’m looking for.” Lance threw her one of his most charming grins and the woman just laughed.

 

“No,” she said still laughing but shaking her head. “My name is Jenny.”

 

“Well Jenny….” he was about to say but something caught his eye. People were carrying sparklers, which were attached to bottles of alcohol. Alarm raised in his brain (which was thankfully not wasted - he only had one drink but it wasn’t enough to get him inebriated) as he saw those people carrying fireworks. “Hey!”

 

He got up from his seat, leaving Jenny very confused. Lance followed the people, until he was able to stop one of them. “I don’t think you have this in here.”

 

She pouted at him. “What do you mean I can’t one in here?”

 

“Look, it’s just dangerous to have this around. A-”

 

A voice, smooth and accented interrupted him. Internally he cursed.

 

_Lotor._

 

“What is going on?” he asked, his hair smoothed back and a strand sticking out in the front. He changed suits - earlier, he was wearing a dark black suit with golden cufflinks and now, he wore a dark purple suit, lined with light purple on the lapels and silver cufflinks. The girl giggled drunkenly at Lotor, and in return he gave her a smile.

 

Right behind him were three different girls, each a different body type but each really tall. One had multicolored hair that was straight and very long and straight hair and was holding a glass of champagne. She grinned innocently at him but he could tell from the look in her eyes that it was just an act. The other woman who stood possessively next to her had her arms crossed in front of her burly body, hair only going up to her chin. She glared at him with the intention of hurting him clear in her eyes. The last one didn’t seem as menacing as the other two Lance thought, as she was just staring at him with an eyebrow raised. Her hair was short too like the burly one but her hair was a light purple where the burly one had dark purple hair.

 

“Did he do something wrong?” the burly one asked, voice deep.

 

“He said that I couldn’t have this in here,” the female pouted as she held up the bottle.

 

“Why can’t she have it?” Lotor asked him, eyebrow raised. Everything about him screamed fishy to Lance and it made him want to sock him. “She’s having a good time.”

 

“Go on,” the multi-colored hair woman said cheerfully. “We’ll deal with him.” The drunk female went off, once again going back to her partying self and jumping up and down in the bar.

 

He glared at all four of them, angry at them letting her get away with that. “She can’t have it because it’s a fire hazard. What if they drop it on the floor?”

 

“They’re not going to drop it,” Lotor responded coolly. “That’s not going to happen. Those sparks aren’t big enough to light a fire and even if they did drop it, it would be dead. The sparks would be gone.”

 

The non-menacing one gave a calculated look at him before turning to Lotor. “Lotor, he could have a point. They’re drunk-”

 

“Acxa nothing is going to happen,” he responded back harshly and she frowned at Lotor’s harsh dismissal of her opinion.

 

“What’s going on?” Lance turned to find Ms. Altea coming towards them, wearing the same outfit from earlier with Keith in tow. “I heard some commotion from this side of the room.” Ms. Altea threw a pointed glance to her adoptive brother, who only scoffed.

 

“It’s none of your concern dear sister,” Lotor spat out. Ms. Altea only rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed with Lotor.

 

“It is her concern,” Keith stepped in, standing next to Ms. Altea protectively. Lance could clearly see that from his stance that Keith and Ms. Altea had some sort of relationship. But what kind he didn’t know. “When it comes to family matters in public, Ms. Altea has all reasons to be concerned especially when you’re causing a scene.”

 

“Ah so the head of security is once again speaking for my sister. It’s as if she doesn’t have an opinion to say except to cause a commotion.” Ms. Altea then glared at Lotor, eyebrows lowering.

 

Lotor continued on, “Why is it you two coming over here when it’s really your bodyguard’s fault? He’s the one who started it.” He threw a glance over to Lance and Lance was honestly so tired of this blame game Lotor was doing.

 

“What happened Lance?” Keith turned to him.  

 

“They have sparklers in here. It’s a fire hazard,” he answered. “People in here could get hurt is they drop them.”  

 

“What?” Keith then turned back to Lotor, moving towards him and invading his personal space. “You allowed this?”

 

“Don’t talk to Lotor like that you peasant!” the burly one yelled out, stepping in front of Lotor.

 

“Yeah,” the cheerful one agreed. “If you want to talk to Lotor, you have to tell us.”

 

From behind the two of them, Lance could see Acxa hesitant in the background. He knew that she agreed with him, but for whatever reason why she wasn’t speaking up made him more upset and annoyed. Why wouldn’t she stand up to this guy?

 

“Don’t start this now you two,” Ms. Altea finally chimed in, annoyance clearly expressed in her tone. “Let’s take this somewhere more quiet,” she suggested, looking around and seeing bodies literally grinding into each other and people screaming at the top of their lungs. “Lance, make sure nothing happens. If something does, call Keith immediately.”

 

Lance nodded his head at her command and he watched them all walk up stairs and out the doors. He hoped that Ms. Altea could get rid of them and their stupid opinions and those fireworks. Taking a deep sigh, he decided he should go wash his face. Maybe washing his face would help clear his head and his emotions of annoyance.

 

As he scooped a bunch of water into his hands and ran it over his face in the bathroom, he instantly felt much better. There was nothing a little bit of water couldn’t fix, or at least that’s what his abuelita would say.

 

A phone was buzzing in his pocket and he took it out after getting a paper towel and rubbing it over his face to get rid of any remaining droplets of water. It was Veronica, probably wondering where he was. And his thought was correct, when he looked down at his phone.

 

**_la mejor hermana  [ 8:54 PM ]_ **

 

Lancito are you coming home soon? I made some ropa vieja.

 

**_la mejor hermana [ 8:54 PM ]_ **

 

Shoot I just realized that you might be working rn.

 

**_la mejor hermana [ 8:55 PM ]_ **

 

I’ll just leave it in the oven for you. Grab it whenever you come back

 

**_la mejor hermana [ 8:55 PM ]_ **

 

Hope your first day is going well Lancito!

 

Veronica’s texts made him smile, even though he had the weirdest first day ever. He couldn’t wait to go home later to tell her everything about what happened, from knowing that he could have a gun on him to getting slapped by Lotor and then getting a hug from Ms. Altea. She’d probably be in disbelief about everything.

 

Right as Lance put away his phone, screams erupted from outside the bathroom. Lance’s eyes widened at the shrill sounds. He rushed to the bathroom door, opening it to see people screaming and running about in terror as smoke flooded the air. Instinctively, he went back to the bathroom and grabbed tons of paper towels, soaking them with water from the sink. Running back out into the terror of the bar, he put one of the paper towels against his mouth and nose to breathe and started handing out paper towels to people that were close to him.

 

“Here!” he shouted, putting one in the hands of a confused man. “Put this against your mouth and nose.”

 

He handed a few more out before finding himself behind a crowd of people who were whimpering and sobbing. “We’re going to die here!” a female voice wailed out.

 

“Put these over your mouth and nose!” he instructed, once more giving out paper towels. “And then follow me.” His brain was almost on autopilot, too focused on making sure people were evacuated safely out of the bar instead of focusing on how scared he was. Lance led them towards the entrance, leading them up the stairs only to find that the hallway leading them out was blocked. He grimaced, moving towards the right and leading them towards another exit, one that he noticed when walking around earlier. Much to his delight, it wasn’t blocked off. However, it was stuck.

 

He tried to push it open with his hand, the other still protecting his airways with the paper towels. Lance groaned and people behind him were making sounds of worry. He decided to kick it open and pushed the people back a safe distance so he could kick it without anyone getting hurt. Using his right leg, he kicked it hard and the door opened, the smell of the city coming through the burning building. Lance ushered people out, waiting for each and every one of them to make sure they made it out safely. Once the last person of the group was out the door and safe from the smoke, he went back down to see if any more people were left.

 

Lance made his way back to the main bar area, but as soon as he was in the room, the exit behind him burst into flames, throwing him backwards into one of the cushions. He groaned and then soon realized he lost his paper towel. _Oh no_ , he thought. But his thoughts were soon pushed away when he saw two women, whimpering in fear in the corner of the bar. He was about to make his way over to them with the remaining paper towels he had in his hands but he heard a creaking sound.

 

To his horror, half of the main decoration of Vrepit Sal’s was tethering over, a mere metal cord holding it in place. Lance knew it wouldn’t last long and he could see it breaking apart, tiny cords breaking apart from the heat and the flames. He couldn’t move - fear was slowly rising in his gut even though every part of him willed him to move. Then it snapped and the huge towering decoration fell and Lance instinctively put his arms up to protect himself and turned to his side, squeezing his eyes shut and dropping the paper towels he had.

 

The next moments were a blur to Lance. He remembered seeing the thing about to drop on top of him and felt the weight of it on him with bottles crashing all around him, liquid spilling out of fragile glass bottles. His eyes opened slowly and he found himself lying on his back with steel rods on top of him, trapping him in place. Lance tried to push it up to no avail; it was too heavy.

 

“No,” he whispered, coughing soon afterwards.

 

He didn’t want to die here.

 

He wanted to see his sister again, to taste her cooking. He wanted to see his niece and nephew and to play with them. He wanted to hug his abuelita, and give her a big, long kiss on her cheek. He wanted to see his parents and give them the biggest of hugs and tell them how much he loved them.

 

But that wasn’t going to happen.

 

He was stuck here, stuck in this fiery bar in the middle of the city, surrounded by broken bottles of booze. Lance was going to die and he instantly felt very afraid. He wanted nothing more than to be comforted by his mother or Veronica and have soothing songs in Spanish sung in his ear at that moment.  

 

Lance heard a song in the air, even though the sounds of the fire were loud and ringing in his ears.

 

It was his ringtone for Veronica.

 

Shifting his head to the side, he found that his phone was next to him instead of in his pocket, where he had put it earlier. Somehow it must’ve fallen out, he reckoned. Trying his best and coughing while doing so, Lance reached out to grab his phone so that he could hit the return call button on his phone. The steel rods on top of him limited his movement; he could only reach so far and unfortunately his phone was out of his reach. He moaned at how he couldn’t reach it.

 

Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes. Lance was never going to hear Veronica’s voice again nor was he going to tell her how much he loved her or how much he appreciated her helping him.

 

He had lost his chance to.

 

“I love you Veronica,” he whispered softly as a stray tear fell his cheek and hit the floor.

 

Lance then closed his eyes and then waited for the inevitable to happen.

 

\---

 

Minutes earlier (before the fire started)

 

Voltron Allura and Keith stood outside of Vrepit Sal’s, arms crossed as they stared down at Lotor and his gang of females. Voltron Allura couldn’t really comprehend what Lotor’s true motive. Out of all the Galra family Keith told her about, he said that Lotor was the one that was mysterious and his every action was unpredictable. And true to Keith’s word, Lotor was unpredictable. She didn’t calculate that he was going to slap Lance or that he was going to be angry with her (well not really her, the human Allura) or that he would want to keep sparklers inside a building, even if they were a fire hazard.

 

“Lotor, it isn’t safe to have sparklers in there,” Keith spoke, voice low. “What if someone gets hurt? Wouldn’t it look bad on you if that happens?”

 

“Now you-” Zethrid was about to charge at him but Lotor put up his hand, stopping her from doing so.

 

“If it did happen, not only would it reflect me, but it would reflect Allura and our father as well.” Lotor threw a glance at her but she only blinked in response. From her observations, Lotor wanted to seem menacing towards the real Allura. But why?

 

“What do you mean by that?” Voltron Allura asked, keeping an edge to voice just how Keith instructed her to when talking to Lotor.

 

Lotor never answered as a huge boom sounded out and people started scrambling out, panic clear on their faces. She only could look with concern as she saw the people leaving and quickly she did a scan of the building. From what she saw, a fire started in the bar area and it was spreading fast. Voltron Allura quickly deduced that the fire was started by one of those people who had those bottles of alcohol with those sparklers on them.

 

“We will be taking our leave now,” Lotor said instead of answering her question. Keith threw a glare at him as he was walking away. “Goodbye Allura.”

 

“We’re not done with you yet!” Keith yelled at their retreating figures. He ran a hand over his face and quickly pulled out his phone, dialing in 9-1-1. Voltron Allura turned back to the building and glanced once more at the people stumbling out. They were clutching at their throats and coughing violently.

 

Something inside of Voltron Allura turned on, taking over her senses and telling her to focus on saving the people inside the building. She started walking towards the building, towards the danger that laid inside. Behind her, she could hear Keith yelling at her, screaming her name but his yelling stopped once she made it past the entrance. Fire erupted behind her but she paid no attention to it.

 

She was a robot; she didn’t have anything to fear.

 

Voltron Allura didn’t have the need for oxygen like humans did. Being in this fire wouldn’t hurt her. She made her way down the stairs, but paused. In the corner of the staircase, a man with glasses was passed out, breaths shallow as he tried to breathe and another man was sitting next to him, worry etched on his face despite the coughing he was doing. She picked him up bridal style and scanned around for any exits, finding one not too far from the staircase she was on. The man followed her wordlessly with his hand covering his mouth and nose. Quickly she made her way to the exit with the man in her arms and when she reached it, she had to push the door open.

 

When she had it open, she put the man gently on the floor and checked his pulse for signs of life. He had a pulse, slow and faint but he was still alive.

 

“Thank you,” the other man gasped out after coughing.

 

Voltron Allura didn’t say anything, instead went back into the burning inferno, making her way down the staircase to the bar. Observing the scene, she found half of the main decoration had fallen over and the other seemed to be ready to fall over at any moment, fire burning all around the floor, eating up the curtains that hung on the walls. In the corner of her eye, she found two women huddling the corner afraid. One was holding her shoes, moaning and coughing at the same time.

 

“My shoes!” she sobbed out. From the sound of it, Voltron Allura figured they were fine and the scans were showing that they didn’t have that much smoke in their lungs.

 

Going up to them, she sternly told them, “Get up. I know you can walk out fine on your own if you’re crying about your shoes.”

 

“But we don’t know where the exit is!” the other female shrieked.

 

Her only response was, “Go up the stairs and go to your right. There’s an exit there.”

 

“Thank you!” they both sobbed, running their way up the stairs. She scanned the room once more, searching for any life forms in the building.

 

There was one and that person was lying underneath the rubble she had seen earlier.

 

Voltron Allura picked up the steel rods that were lying on top of the person, who had their eyes closed and soot covering their face. Why, she didn’t know. Suddenly they realized that the weight off of them had been lifted and they opened their eyes.

 

It was Lance, her newly appointed bodyguard.

 

He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth open in shock. “What are you doing here?” he finally said, voice hoarse from all the smoke he inhaled. He coughed again before speaking. “You should leave! It’s not safe here!”

 

Then the second half of the main decoration fell, falling toward them rapidly. In front of her Lance put up his hands, ready to shield himself from the falling debris coming down at them. But she was ready for it, knees bent and all. The falling debris fell against her metal plating with a hard thunk and she easily pushed it back up so it was against the wall. Lance had his eyes shut once more but opened them up to see her pushing it back against the wall. Voltron Allura could tell he was in disbelief, not believing she had done that.

 

She simply just picked him and he stared at her once more in shock. She knew why Lance was telling her those words. He wanted her to leave, to be safe. But her protocol of making sure everyone, including him, was safe was her top priority.

 

Lance’s mouth was open in shock and Voltron Allura stared at him as she held him in her arms. Something loud was beating and Voltron Allura quickly deducted that it was his heart. Lance’s face flushed despite the soot covering his face.  

 

He uttered out weakly, clutching on to her shoulder, “That’s your heart beating, not mine.”

 

“I don’t have a heart,” she responded.

 

It was the truth. She didn’t have a heart or a brain or those chemicals that produced feelings. Voltron Allura was made of wires and coding, and a chips that granted her access to hack any technology and views to the Internet.

 

He only stared at her in complete confusion as she rushed him out the of the burning building. Fire raged loud next to their ears as she made her way up the stairs and turned to the right, the exit in which she had directed the two females to. The door was cracked open a tiny bit, allowing Voltron Allura to only push it open with a tiny bit of force.

 

Once they were safely outside from the smoke, she put Lance down on the ground, laying him down so he could inhale oxygen. He started coughing immediately once he was on the ground but as soon as it started, it quickly ended.

 

Lance gave her a tired smile, soot running near his right eye and lips. “Thank you Ms. Altea.”

 

As soon as Lance said that, all of her senses turned back on. She blinked a couple of times, confused. Voltron Allura had no clue what just happened. Why was she out here with Lance, her bodyguard, on her knees? Wasn’t she out in the front of Vrepit Sal’s with Keith?

 

“Where am I?” she asked Lance, who was only staring at her in disbelief.

 

“You’re-” she heard him say but she couldn’t hear the rest. Every system in her robotic body was shutting down and she saw it on the screens in her retinas.

 

Voltron Allura had no choice but to slowly close her eyes as her final system shut down.

 

\---

 

Keith grimaced as he watched Voltron Allura step into the flames. What the hell just happened? Why was she acting this way?

 

He quickly dialed up Pidge, muttering under his breath for her to pick up. Luckily for him she did.

 

“Hello?” Pidge asked, voice tentative and slightly sleepy. “Keith, what’s going on?” she asked once more when she didn’t get an answer right away.

 

He glanced back into the burning flames and responded to her quietly. “There was a fire at Vrepit Sal’s. And Allura headed in there without talking to me first. Why did she go in there?”

 

“She went on Protection Mode,” Pidge said and he could hear the shuffling of blankets in the background.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“It means that Allura’s going to disregard everything you tell her and focus on getting those people in the building out.”

 

He grimaced once more. “Please tell me that you can get rid of it right now,” he begged her. Their whole entire cover would be blown and whoever had tried to kill the real Allura would find out and then send someone to actually kill her off for good. They couldn’t have that. He was desperately hoping that Pidge could do something.

 

“I can’t,” she said and he could imagine her shaking her head. His heart dropped in disappointment at her words. “I could only do it if I was in the same room as her. Plus if I did have the ability to turn off the Protection Mode, I’d be putting her in danger.”

 

“So what can I do? There has to be something I can do.”

 

He heard the rustling of something over the phone. “You can’t. The only thing you can do is wait for her to come back out.” Keith gritted his teeth at this. He hated waiting for things, especially when those things were out of his control.

 

“Fine,” he finally said after a moment and he hung up on her. Keith looked around, glancing at the people who were coming out and those who were sitting on the ground, looking tired but coughing at the same time.

 

He was so tired of waiting.

 

Minutes later, he got a text from Pidge.

 

**_Pidge Holt  [ 9:05 PM ]_ **

 

I checked V.A’’s location. She just came out and is on the left side of the building.

 

Keith let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding and rushed to the side where Voltron Allura was. He could hear medics yelling at him to stay put but he didn’t listen, choosing to focus on whether the AI was alright or not. She was there, and so was Lance, who was lying on the floor. Lance was looking at her worridley and he looked like he was about to scream for help.

 

He made his way over to their positions and he quickly understood why Lance was staring at her worridley.

 

Voltron Allura was on her knees in a perfect position, her back completely straight and not slouching like how one would. But her eyes were closed, her expression neutral. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought she was dead.

 

“What happened?” he demanded to Lance as he pulled Voltron Allura towards him, checking her watch. On it, it read the battery was drained and when he held Voltron Allura against him, he felt that she was rather hot, probably from the fire. Then he looked down to see why her back felt so weird, and his eyes widened.

 

Parts of her metal plating was burnt off, exposing the wiring that Voltron Allura had within her. Quickly, he took off his suit jacket and slipped it over her robotic frame.

 

Lance just stared at him, eyes wide. “She got me out of the building and basically pulled whatever was on top of me off of me.”

 

The medics then came over with an ambulance in tow for both Lance and Voltron Allura and right behind them were the reporters, all taking dozens of pictures. He couldn’t let them look at Voltron Allura’s injuries. If they did, their whole entire cover would be blown and that would be so bad. As they took Voltron Allura and Lance onto the respective gurneys, Keith took out his phone and sent a quick text to Pidge.

 

**_Me [ 9:08 PM ]_ **

 

S.O.S

 

**_Pidge Holt [ 9:08 PM ]_ **

 

On it

 

**_Pidge Holt [ 9:08 PM ]_ **

 

Make sure the ambulance goes to the Castle of Lions Hospital

 

**_Pidge Holt [ 9:08 PM ]_ **

 

I’ll text you when Hunk sees you

 

**_Pidge Holt [ 9:08 PM ]_ **

 

When I do, make sure you stop the ambulance

 

Keith pocketed his phone, keeping the hospital name in mind as he got into the ambulance. He didn’t really understand what she meant by that but he was going to trust that she knew what she was doing. A medic was sitting across from him, inserting the plastic tubes into Voltron Allura’s nose. The sight made him sick on the inside, instantly reminded of the last time he saw the real Allura in the Czech Republic. How many times did he have to see Allura in medical danger, real or not? Voltron Allura, even though she was a robot, still had her face.

 

“Which hospital does Ms. Altea want to be taken to?” the driver at the front shouted to him.

“The Castle of Lions Hospital.”

 

From the rearview mirror, he saw the driver nod his head and off they went. Keith could vaguely hear the ambulance sirens going off but he was too focused on making sure that no one checked Voltron Allura’s injuries.

 

“Do you know what happened to her sir?” the medic sitting across from asked, filling out a paper on a clipboard.

 

“She went back to save people.” That answer was simple enough.

 

The medic nodded his head, writing down what he said. “How long was she in there for?”

 

“Maybe 5 to 10 minutes?” Keith honestly didn’t know. He was too wrapped up about how Voltron Allura could compromise their own plan. The more he thought about it now, he realized it didn’t look like Voltron Allura was breathing. And he really hoped the medic didn’t catch on to that.

 

The medic nodded his head once more before putting down the clipboard next to him, moving towards Voltron Allura to check her pulse. Without even thinking, Keith immediately slapped the man’s hand, stopping him from touching Voltron Allura.

 

“Dude what the hell?” he yelled at him, clearly outraged. “Do you want Ms. Altea to die?”

 

Keith had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. ‘Ms. Altea’ wasn’t going to die. She wasn’t even human for quiznacking’s sake!

 

“She isn’t going to die. She wasn’t even in there for that long.” he evenly responded. He heard a ping on his phone, a sign that Pidge needed him to stop the ambulance. Keith motioned towards the ambulance driver, “I need you to stop here.”

 

“Don’t listen to him!” the medic yelled out. “He’s crazy!”

 

“Do you want to know who will go crazy?” Keith asked him, voice low and eyes narrowed. “The press will when they find out that Ms. Altea is in the hospital. They’ll go after her like hounds and I’m positive that she would not want that. And she doesn’t need her family to know about this either.”

 

“But-” the medic started but Keith cut him off.

 

“I have another ambulance waiting for us,” Keith lied. He wasn’t actually sure if that’s what Pidge meant by having him stop the ambulance but he was hoping it would be the case. “That ambulance would take us to another hospital, one with better security and less known.”

 

The medic and the driver shared a look before the driver nodded his head. “Fine.”

 

The driver slowed down, and the ambulance swerved a little to the right before finally stopping. The medic opened the ambulance door, stepping outside first before taking out the gurney Voltron Allura was on. He took out the IV afterwards, the one that was connected to Voltron Allura through the tubes up her nose. Keith stepped out following that and when he looked to his right, he found that there was another ambulance there with a different logo than the one he rode in, with Pidge decked out in medic clothes. She nodded towards the other medic, opening up ambulance doors so that the medic could put the gurney into the ambulance. From the side mirror, he saw Hunk and they made eye contact, nodding heads at each other.

 

Keith and Pidge said nothing to one another until the ambulance door shut, locking them both within the confines of the ambulance and Voltron Allura’s prone form. The ambulance started, speeding away from the ambulance Keith and Voltron Allura just rode in.

 

“Do you know what happened to her?” Pidge asked him as she took the tubes out of Voltron Allura’s nose.

 

“She has burns on her back,” Keith stated, motioning towards Voltron Allura. “All her wires are sticking out and everything. It looks like some of her skin melted off.”

 

Pidge nodded her head, taking off the suit jacket that around Voltron Allura. She handed it back to him before turning Voltron Allura around so that she was lying on her stomach. The sight of Voltron Allura’s back made her grimace and Keith couldn’t fault her for that. It looked pretty bad.

 

Somehow, she quickly recovered, looking to him. “It’s nothing that I can’t fix,” she reassured him.

 

“She can fix anything,” Hunk yelled to them.

 

“Thank you Hunk.” Pidge pulled out a briefcase and opened it, revealing a bunch of tools. She took out a pair of glasses, ones that differed that the round circular glasses he was quite accustomed to seeing. These glasses had a light attached to them and were shaped differently, almost rectangular. Following this, Pidge took out some pen-like device and held it to Voltron Allura’s back. Sparks flew from it and Keith could see that she was trying to mend the wires that were fizzing sparks.

 

He turned his attention away, knowing that Pidge probably would feel uncomfortable if he stared at her working. Keith made his way towards the front of the ambulance where Hunk was and slipped into the seat next to him.

 

“Where are we going?” he asked the bigger man.

 

“We’re still going to the Castle of Lions Hospital,” Hunk told him, eyes still focused on the road. “But we figured that to make it look believable, we’d need a real doctor since Voltron Allura did have her skin burned off. So I asked my girlfriend to help us out.”

 

\---

 

Lotor’s face was neutral as he rode in the car towards the Castle of Lions Hospital but inside he was grinning with absolute glee, like a child at Christmas. This was his opportunity to take advantage of Allura’s situation. With her out of the picture, he would be able to take his rightful place as the CEO of Galra Tech. If he had to be honest, he didn’t even care about the company.

 

He only wanted his father to see how powerful, how influential he had become over the years.

 

He wanted to tell his father he was not that weak child that he always saw him as. He wanted to show him he was the superior one and not Allura, who was weak and pitiful as she took too many opportunities from him.

 

There was a lot of things he wanted his father to see but the only way for him to see it was through drastic measures.

 

“What are you thinking my son?” a raspy voice asked him from his left.

 

“Nothing mother,” he said putting on a fake smile as he looked at her.

 

He couldn’t see her eyes underneath her veil of black and he knew that it wouldn’t be able to even if he peered hard enough. Her tone was knowing as she said, “I know you, especially that face. Now tell me what is on your mind.”

 

His mother was always like this, prying open information from him, wondering what was going on his mind. “I was thinking how much I wished he saw me,” he confessed. “Father. He never sees my potential. He only sees me as a weak little boy.”

 

Haggar didn’t say anything after his confession, taking a moment to think over his words. “That is true. All he sees is that girl Allura, praising about how well she is doing, about how confident she has become. I believe he feels guilty over taking out her parents and is trying to make up for his past sins.”

 

Lotor only nodded. Honerva continued on, “But he’s too weak, believing that. I think you know that as well, which is why you tried to have Allura killed during her trip to the Czech Republic.”

 

He froze at his mother’s words, causing Haggar to laugh at his stillness underneath her veil. How did she know about his attempt to kill Allura? Did one of the girls expose him? If one of them did, he was going to-

 

“I know many things about you Lotor and I’ve always suspected one day you would try to take her out. I’m just surprised you waited this long to attempt to kill her.”

 

His mother was unpredictable and it was honestly terrifying how she knew so much. But it was the one skill that made her useful among the family, especially back then when Alfor applied for the Garrison. And if he had to be honest, he felt extremely lucky that he had his mother’s favor behind him.

 

“I was waiting for the right opportunity for her to be caught unaware. The Czech Republic was the perfect place to do that, although I do wonder how she came back unscathed,” he said to his mother.

 

Honerva hummed in response and he continued on. “The person I hired said he saw her get hit by a truck and that blood started pooling where her head was.”

 

“That is quite curious indeed,” Honerva stated, folding her fingers together on her lap. “No mere mortal should be able to recover that quickly.” They finally approached their destination and Lotor took a step out of the car once it finally stopped. He was curious to see how his “step-sister” was faring, although the thought of how she recovered so quickly plagued him. Even though she was in this fire, was she actually injured?

 

He started approaching the hospital doors and quickly noticed his mother was not beside him. Lotor turned around to see his mother still sitting in the car. She waved, motioning for him to go on by himself. After heading towards the desk, he quickly approached the floor Allura was supposed to be having surgery on.

 

And when he got to the floor she was on (the private floor for VIP guests), he was met with a familiar face.

 

Keith was standing outside the doors to the surgical rooms, hands folded in front of him like he had a purpose for standing outside. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of him and Lotor could only roll his eyes. That head of security was always like that with him and it was quite annoying.

 

“Lotor,” Keith said to him once he got closer.

 

“Keith,” Lotor responded in kind, but with mild disgust in his voice. He couldn’t help it; Keith was born out of wedlock, the worst kind of child his father would say. Plus Keith was loyal to Allura, another thing that disgusted him.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

He opened his mouth and put a hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt at Keith’s question. “Why would you ask that Keith? Why wouldn’t I come to visit my dear _sister_?”

 

Lotor emphasized the last word on purpose, which caused another narrowed eye look from Keith. Allura would never be his sister; she was more of his competition, his rival, his enemy. He wanted nothing to do with her.

 

“I’ve known you long enough Lotor to know you wouldn’t come here without a motive.”

 

“You’re right. Nothing ever escapes you Keith.” _Let Keith actually think he knows me_ , Lotor thought. “So can you let me in? I want to see if Allura is doing alright.”

 

“You can’t see her. She’s in surgery.”

 

Surgery? It made him raise his eyebrows in surprise. “What happened to her?”

 

“Not sure,” Keith said, shaking his head. However Lotor could see through his eyes that he knew. He was just choosing not to tell him.

 

“Then by all means, I think you should let me see her.” He wanted to see if this injury of hers was real and to see if he could find that injury from getting hit in the Czech Republic. He started moving towards the doors, but Keith took a step in front of him, blocking his way.

“I don’t think you should go in there,” Keith said evenly as he stared at him.

 

“I am her family.” He groaned internally at the use of the word family, especially when it tied to Allura. “And I demand for you to let me go in there.”

 

Lotor and Keith stared at each other intensely. Keith spoke, “Allura would want her privacy.”

 

“But what’s more important? Family wanting to know how she is doing or her privacy?” He threw one last pointed glare at Keith, knowing that somehow he would then give in to his request. And if he didn’t well, Lotor would do something about that after today.

 

Keith stared back at him, fury blazing in his eyes. His eyes reflected back the same hatred that Lotor had for his sister. Maybe they were more alike than he thought, but he quickly shook the thought away. No, there could never be a similarity between him and the commoner.

 

“Fine.” Keith stepped aside and let Lotor pass him. He swung the doors open, marching through them as they made a clanging sound when they collided with the walls. It was easy to discover where Allura was - there was only one room in the hallway that had the lights on. He got closer to the room, where his heart was beating in anticipation. Some horrifying part of him wanted to see Allura in pain. He wanted her to feel the pain that he had felt over the years.

 

Once again, he swung open the doors but found himself greeted with the sight of two females, both decked out in scrubs. One was taller with dark brown hair and a surgical cap resting on her head; she stared at him with a bewildered face as he stepped in. The other female had honey-brown hair, tied neatly back into a short ponytail and also had a surgical cap to cover the rest of her head. She stared down at the floor, possibly looking afraid.

 

He gave a malicious smile at the sight of that. Lotor enjoyed people cowering in his presence.

 

He saw Allura on the table, lying on her stomach. From the looks of it, they were treating her back. But what kind of injury it was interested him.

 

The tall female took her face mask off, her mouth open and in her eyes there was fury. “What the hell are you doing here?”

 

“I’m here to check on my sister,” he explained calmly.

 

“You shouldn’t be here,” the tall female said to him, moving towards him in an effort to push him out. “Staff only.”

 

He moved past her quickly, ignoring her calls for him to leave and approached the table that Allura was lying on. She had a blanket on her, probably covering up whatever injury she had. With a tug, the blanket was pushed aside to reveal what it was.

 

On her back, there was a simple bandage over her injury, not really giving a clue to what happened to Allura. Lotor growled, annoyed that he couldn’t see what her injury was.

 

“Are you happy now?” the female yelled at him, her body dangerously close to his. “You got to see how your sister is doing. Now get out.”

 

He put his hands up in mock surrender. “Yes, yes I shall be leaving,” Lotor responded with a calm facade. “Give me a call to when she wakes up. I’ll be back to visit her soon.”

 

Then he left the surgical room with a frown covering his face. Everything about that so called “surgery” seemed suspicious to him. Why were there only two people instead of more? Why did Allura’s back have to be covered with a blanket? And lastly, why was Keith guarding the surgery hallways?

 

From his recent encounter, Lotor knew that Keith and Allura were hiding something.

 

And he was going to find out what it was.

 


	4. my heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song for this chapter: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Fkt7Qqfu8

_ I didn't know that _

_ my heart is like this, those feelings _

_ create me _

_ I only look at you _

_ I must love you very much _

 

_ I’m looking for my heart _

_ it makes me go crazy _

_ I’m looking for your love _

_ I want only you _

_ even if I push or erase you _

_ you go deeper _

_ in my heart _

_ and all my heart fills up with you I feel alone _

 

* * *

 

 

Buzz. 

 

Whir. 

 

Beep. 

 

Voltron Allura opened her eyes, blinking as she adjusted to her surroundings. She found herself staring up at Pidge and Hunk, who were all looking down at her worridley. Keith was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his expression, well she didn’t understand his expression. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Pidge asked her gently. 

 

Voltron Allura sat up, finding herself in a foreign place she couldn’t recognize and in a bed that didn’t belong to her. She only nodded her head, looking through her retina computer to see that she had parts replaced and wires fixed in her back. 

 

“What happened? Where am I?” Voltron Allura asked as she glanced around to see only one portrait with a familiar face hanging on the wall. Besides that, most of the walls were bare and the shelves didn’t have much except for books that related to business. However, there was one item on the shelf that differed from the others. It was a red plush lion with robotic looking features. 

 

“You took damage to your back during that fire at Vrepit Sal’s,” Hunk told her, patting her hand and she stared at him as he did that. “But we were able to fix you up.” 

 

“And you’re in the real Allura’s home,” Pidge continued on, glancing over to Keith who just nodded his head. “Keith thought it would be better to move you here and make it seem like you’re the real Allura.” 

 

“Seems less suspicious if you leave from here instead of coming back from Pidge’s place,” he offered and Voltron Allura once again shook her head. 

 

“Are you going to stay here Mom and Uncle Hunk?” Voltron Allura asked, looking at her two creators. Pidge scrunched up her lips and looked away. Hunk was looking happy and she guessed that it was because she called him Uncle Hunk. 

 

“We’re not staying here Allura,” Pidge told her, with a look in her eyes that Voltron Allura couldn’t decipher. She grabbed Pidge’s hand, to see if there were the body reactions that came with lying. There were none. 

 

“Why not?” 

 

“We only stayed here because you needed us. And well, now you don’t,” Pidge scratched her arm in a manner that seemed like she was doing it out of nervousness. 

 

“But we will catch up with you though!” Hunk said with a smile. “You’re free to call us whenever you like or you can call us through Keith.” 

 

“Only when we’re here though,” Keith interjected. “It’s too risky to place calls with Pidge and Hunk when you’re out in public. There’s ears all around.” 

 

Voltron Allura nodded her head and then Pidge spoke once more. “Can you give me a minute alone with Allura?” she asked to the guys in the room. They nodded their heads and Keith walked out first, followed by Hunk after he gave Voltron Allura a hug. 

 

She stared at her creator curiously, machines whirring with ideas for why Pidge wanted to speak to her alone. The only idea that matched what she caught on camera was when she was looking at her with that face...what was the word, uncomfortable? 

 

“Allura-” Pidge started. 

 

“Are you uncomfortable with me?” Voltron Allura asked suddenly, cutting off Pidge. It was the only logical explanation that could come up to her. 

 

“No! No!” Pidge said, shaking her hands in front of her. “I’m fine with you. It’s just...you’re the only one out of all the AI’s that calls me Mom and it’s weird.” 

 

“Weird?” She frowned, confused once more. “A mother is someone who creates you through-” Voltron Allura said, reading off of what she had found on Google. 

 

“Ah!!!!!!! No don’t need to hear that!” Pidge covered her ears as she closed her eyes shut. She quickly popped one eye back open to see that Voltron Allura hadn’t said anything else after Pidge told her to stop talking. Pidge took a deep breath before continuing, “It’s weird because I don’t have kids of my own and I don’t think I can handle being called a mother when I’m only twenty-one. So, do you think you can just call me Pidge? Or Katie. I don’t really care.” 

 

Voltron Allura stared at her, processing the information that was just given to her. “Alright Pidge.” 

 

Pidge gave her a smile then before continuing. “Also, do you think you can follow Keith’s rules to the exact word? I know you’re trying though but he doesn’t see it. Well he does, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t see enough of it.” 

 

She nodded her head to her creator’s request. Keith doubted her? If she was human, she’d probably be hurt at hearing that from Pidge. But she was a robot, so she didn’t feel anything. 

 

Voltron Allura wanted to make Pidge and Uncle Hunk happy with her, even Keith too. It was a part of her programming to make the humans happy. 

 

She would make sure she acted just like Keith had told her to. 

 

* * *

 

It had been a couple of rough days for Lance. He had been stuck in the hospital for two days (mainly because his mother, sister, and abuelita wanted to make sure he was alright) with crappy hospital food and then a slap from his sister (“What the hell were you thinking?” Veronica had yelled at him afterwards). Following that Veronica had called Keith up and told him that Lance still needed rest following the fire (she was lying; the doctor said he was fine after those two days in the hospital but Veronica wanted to keep an eye on him). 

 

He was bored doing nothing in bed, just lying there and scrolling through his phone. Lance felt fine, so why couldn’t he do anything? 

 

Oh yeah because his sister, with support from the rest of his family, said so. 

 

So when he finally got back to work, it was like a blessing. He got to be up and moving instead of being confined to bed rest. Not that he didn’t appreciate Veronica and his family’s constant care and worries, but he needed a break. (He really loved them still.) 

 

When he got to work on Wednesday morning, he breathed a sigh of relief in the lobby. “Man it’s so good to be back!” he shouted out, expanding his arms out. People around him stared at him, whispering to each other about him yelling out. He noticed that people were staring at him and talking. 

 

“So sorry,” he muttered out, turning back towards the way he was going. 

 

It was funny because immediately once he stepped into the elevator, he was hit with what happened on the first day on the job, from the slaps to the most unconventional arguments, and then he didn’t want to be in the same building as that jerkface Lotor. Lance was almost convinced to actually press the down button but the rational side of him (plus Veronica’s voice) was telling him to stay and be professional. 

 

“You can do this Lance,” he whispered to himself. “Just focus on doing your job and impressing ladies while you’re at it.” 

 

The elevator dinged, signaling his arrival on the floor where Ms. Altea’s office was. He took another deep breath again, trying to put on the confident facade instead of the fearful one that he felt on the inside, and took a step out. 

 

Right as he made his way towards Keith’s office, a lady with dark-grayish hair decided to pop out of nowhere and block his way. “Excuse me ma’am,” Lance said to her. “I need to get to work.” 

 

“In all due time Lance,” the woman said in a raspy voice. Her eyes were an unnatural color, close to a yellow almost, but they looked all so familiar to him.  _ Wait,  _ Lance realized as he looked at the woman in front of him. Her eyes resembled Lotor’s so that must have meant…..

 

It was Honerva, Zarkon’s wife and Lotor’s mother. 

 

If he had to be honest, she didn’t exactly look bad….but she didn’t look great either. The skin on her hands were frailed and wrinkled like an old lady’s, but Lance didn’t think she was that old. Also her skin had an unnatural color to it, as if she was exposed to some weird chemical. It seemed more….purple? Or was it gray? Lance couldn’t tell. 

 

But then a more important question came to mind. 

 

How the heck did she know his name? 

 

He looked at her perplexed. “How did you-?” 

 

Honerva gave him a look that eerily reminded him of Lotor. The same cunning smile with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I know everything about the company. I know when new people are hired and when people are fired. I even know every single project within these company walls.” 

 

Dang she sounded creepy when she spoke, Lance couldn’t help but think. “Um...okay,” he responded, looking down at his watch. It was 7:55 AM, which meant that he had 5 minutes to get to Keith’s office before he busted his ass for not showing up on time. “It was nice chatting with you Mrs. Galra, but I’ve really got to be going.” 

 

He started to move past her but she blocked his way once more. “I have something I need to discuss with you Lance,” she told him, staring at him intently.

 

“What?” he asked her, sort of hesitant (not to mention scared) about what she was about to ask him. 

 

“I’ve noticed Allura acting strangely and I’ve heard you had become her new bodyguard. Would you want to give me information about how she acts?” Why would Honerva come to him about Ms. Altea? It’s not like he knew that well. Lance had found it even stranger that Honerva didn’t mention Allura as her “daughter” or even “adopted child”. 

 

But he did notice that sometimes Ms. Altea said and done some very strange things. Like how she didn’t have a heart or how she randomly hugged him after he got slapped. 

 

“Why would you want to know?” Lance asked with an eyebrow raised. “Isn’t it an invasion of privacy?” 

 

“Oh no dear,” she came forward to grab his hand. Honerva started patting his hand. “My husband and I were worried about her. You see she went on a trip recently and she hasn’t been the same since. And unfortunately, we have to ask people around us to see how she’s doing because we’re not that close to her. She blocks us out.” 

 

Oh. That made more sense. Honerva seemed genuinely concerned about Ms. Altea, wanting to know about how she was doing. Plus they were family. If he was in Honerva’s shoes and was wanting to know about Veronica, he would do the same thing too. “I guess I could do it for you. Finding out how she is and stuff.” 

 

Honerva smiled, showing off her crooked, white teeth, only to adding to the effect that she was scary. “I will compensate you greatly for your work young man.” 

Lance held up his hands in protest. “Oh no you don’t have to! I’d be-” 

 

“Nonsense!” Honerva shook his off. “I want to. But also,” She crooked a finger, motioning for him to come closer, whispering to him. “Let’s keep this between us, shall we? I don’t want Allura to find out that I’m doing this. And in order to find out how she is doing, I need you to be with her at all times, even when she is home.” 

 

Asking him to be in the same home as Ms. Altea? Now that was weird. There was something else in her eye that she was keeping from him but Lance chose not to comment on it, feeling that he would be judging his superior’s actions. “Alright,” he carefully responded, taking a step back and giving a polite smile. “I guess I would need your contact information.” 

 

Once again she shook him off, shaking her head. “No need. I will contact you.” Then Honerva took off, walking past him and heading straight towards the elevator. 

 

Lance raised his eyebrow at her retreating form. That was weird. Did he just get another job offer? And what was it with the Galra family? They sure had their share of interesting people. From Lotor, who screamed mysterious and a jerk to Allura, who was weirdly kind, and then Honerva, who just screamed creepy to him. 

 

He headed towards Keith’s office, knowing that he was going to get that look from Keith for being late. But somehow, Lance didn’t find it in himself to care. He was pondering over Honerva’s words, her tone and even questioning why Ms. Altea and her family were estranged. The concept seemed foreign to him, being so distant from his family. He and his own family were really close. But he guessed that she had her reasons for blocking them out, something that he wasn’t going to fault her for. However since Honerva wanted to know how her adoptive child was doing, he wasn’t going to deny that to her. 

 

By the time he reached Keith’s office, he found that Keith wasn’t there. His seat sat empty and his desk bare unlike last time he was in his office. Then a ping went off on his phone, signaling there was an incoming text. 

 

**_Unknown Number [ 8:05 AM ]_ **

 

Just head over to Ms. Altea’s office and watch over her. 

 

**_Unknown Number [ 8:06 AM ]_ **

 

This is Keith by the way. 

 

Alright, that made it easier, not having to deal with Keith for the day. He just needed to go over to Ms. Altea’s office, watch over her, and bam he was done for the day. It couldn’t be as hard as it was last time. 

 

As Lance started walking over towards Ms. Altea’s office, he realized Honerva had asked of him to keep a watch on her at all hours. Like 24/7. 

 

Oh god. He had to formally ask for some way to keep an eye on her at all times without sounding like a stalker. Pretty much every idea he was coming up with at the moment sounded stalkerish or creepy. How could you ask you your boss if you could watch over them just to check if they weren’t acting weird? Lance did consider asking Veronica over text about what he should say, or even Keith (because he felt like Keith would understand his position - maybe?) but then realized he wasn’t supposed to say a word to anyone about watching out for Ms. Altea’s weird behavior. 

 

As he neared Ms. Altea’s office, Lance didn’t have anything in his mind about what he should say. Every question coming to him now was coming up flirty in his head. 

 

“Hey Ms. Altea,” he visualized himself saying, leaning on her desk with lidded eyes and a grin. “Are you from outer space? Because you’re eyes are so alluring that I want to keep an eye on you all the time!” 

 

Oh no, he couldn’t say that at all. 

 

Shaking his head, Lance decided last second maybe he shouldn’t say anything. He’d find another way, another day to ask Ms. Altea about keeping an eye at her at all times. He’d even write up a list and see which one didn’t sound the cringiest. 

 

When Lance entered her office, she glanced up at him and gave him a small smile. “How are you feeling Lance?” she asked him quietly, gazing at him with her blue eyes. 

 

He was caught unaware by her sincerity, kind of surprised that she would ask. “Oh,” he got out. “I’m good. I was technically good after the second day in the hospital but family decided to keep me under bed rest. Thanks for asking.” Lance gave her a smile then. 

 

“How about you? You got me worried there, when you passed out,” he asked her. 

 

It did scare him a little bit, seeing her like that. Ms. Altea had just saved him from dying and then out of nowhere, her eyes shut, with her in almost a comatose like state. He remembered watching from the gurney how they easily picked her up, placing her in a gurney and rushing away in the ambulance. 

 

“I’m fine,” she nodded her head. “Nothing the doctors couldn’t fix.” 

 

Ms. Altea went back to her work and Lance sat down in the one of the chairs in front of her desk, watching her. Just a few moments afterwards, he blurted out, “Can I request something?” 

 

She looked up from her work, glancing at him with a raised brow. “Go right ahead.” 

 

“Ms. Altea, can I be your full time bodyguard? To make sure you’re safe at all times. What happened last week could have been prevented if I was there to make sure you were far from the scene. And for any future incidents, I’ll make sure that no one comes after you or threatens you. They’re going to have to deal with me. Consider this my way of saying thank you for what you did.” 

 

Lance mentally fist pumped himself on the inside. He was able to give out a full and complete, thoughtful lie to about why he wanted to be her full-time bodyguard. Not that he didn’t care about Ms. Altea, but Honerva’s request was more important to him. Family was everything to him and if Honerva wanted to know about her adoptive daughter, then she was going to know about her adoptive daughter. Plus money sounded like a nice thing. (Who was he kidding, he was getting double the pay. Money was heck of nice. He could spend it on anything he wanted. Maybe he could get a cow. That would scare the heck out of his sister.) 

 

Ms. Altea pressed her lips together in a thoughtful look. She stared at him before taking his hand, her fingertips lightly pressing down on his hand. Lance was surprised took notice of how soft her fingers felt and how long and elegant they were. As he glanced down at her hands he thought in awe about how much work how come out of her hands, how much of their future was in her hands. 

 

Then he looked up into her blue eyes, noticing how blue and sparkly they were. And then with no warning or signal, her left eye winked. His eyes widened at the sight and originally thought that he was winking at him because she thought he was attractive. But then he realized that when she blinked, the rest of her face was neutral, not a muscle moving. 

 

“You’re lying,” she suddenly stated, startling him. 

 

“What?” How’d she even pick up on his lie? Did she have mind-reading powers? No, wait she took his hand, and then held it. Maybe she could read his hand, like a fortune teller. Now that he thought about it, she couldn’t have since she stared at him straight in the eye. 

 

“No I didn’t,” Lance sputtered out. 

 

Her left eye winked again. “Yes you did.” 

 

“Look,” he yanked his hand free from her grasp, partially annoyed with how come she wasn’t buying it (and partially terrified too). “I don’t know how or why you’re thinking I’m lying but I just want to make sure you’re safe at all times. You’re the future Ms. Altea. Anything that hurts you hurts the rest of the world too.” 

 

Why or how he came up with all of that baffled him, but hey at least he had a reason right? (His real reason was the money and making sure the Galras could solve their family problems. Not that he cared of course.) 

 

Her brows drew together, in apprehension of what he had just said. She stared at him, blinking her eyes and Lance could tell a million of thoughts were running through her head. “Fine. You move in later, after you have escorted Keith and I back home.” 

 

“Wait really?” 

 

“Really,” she nodded her head without a smile, turning back to her work. “Unless you want me to take it back. I can.” 

 

“No, no!” Lance said shaking his hands. “It’s great. Just great. Thank you for this opportunity.” 

 

His phone went off with a ring, an incoming phone call, and Ms. Altea surprisingly didn’t take notice of it. However, she did wave him off, signaling that he should take it outside. 

 

Lance headed out of her office, outside of the development room, and stepped into the hallway before finally picking up the phone. 

 

“Hello?” 

 

“Well?” a coarse voice asked slowly from the other side of the line. 

 

Honerva. 

 

“She said I could be her full-time bodyguard. I move in tonight after taking her back to her home,” Lance whispered into the phone, unsure of who would be listening in on his call. 

 

“You’ve done very well Lance,” she praised him. “During your lunch break, I have something to give you. And a payment will be going very shortly into your account.” 

 

“Ah alright,” Lance said, nodding his head. “Thank you very much Mrs. Galra.” He hung up on her shortly afterwards, heading back towards Ms. Altea’s office. 

 

He couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he just got himself into. 

 

* * *

 

 

Keith slipped his phone back into his pocket after messaging Lance. He figured that the guy could figure out what to do. (It wasn’t like his job was hard; it was actually really easy. He just had to be alert at all times.) 

 

He was currently standing outside Pidge’s loft, leaning against her doorway and waiting for her to open the door. Luckily he wasn’t in a rush to get back to work, since had quite a few things he wanted to talk about with Pidge (and Hunk if he was there). 

 

Everything that he had to say was about Voltron Allura. She looked exactly like Allura, which was great and all, but there were other things he was quite concerned about. Voltron Allura acted nothing like Allura at work, being kind and cheerful to people even though she was supposed to be cruel and act indifferent (well she was acting cruel and indifferent around the Galras and some higher ups, but not the development team and a couple of others). Keith knew she was trying to follow to his rules and what they worked on together, but it still wasn’t enough. He was pretty sure she gave off the impression that she went on vacation and did a complete 180 over there. 

 

There was a small part of him that noticed that she did things on her own accord, whether it agreed with him or not. And that was worrisome. 

 

The difficulties with Voltron Allura weren’t the only thing on his mind, stressing him out. After Lotor had showed up at the hospital the other day, questions had been plaguing his mind about what Lotor was planning to do. Lotor had always been one step ahead of him and Allura, knowing exactly how they would react or what they would do. The only time that they were (technically) ahead of him was when Voltron Allura unexpectedly decided to take over the press conference from him last minute. 

 

So what Lotor’s motive that night had bothered him a lot, causing him to lose a lack of sleep (well the three hours worth he usually slept) for the past few days. He didn’t know what Lotor’s angle was and he feared that it had to involve Allura in some capacity. 

 

He was also recently trying to find more proof of Zarkon hiring others to kill off the Alteas, but was coming up with no luck. Keith felt like the more proof he had, the more it would prove Zarkon’s guiltiness. But with no evidence besides Coran’s words wouldn’t help. It would be a case easily denied. 

 

So to say that he had a lot on his plate really was an understatement.

 

The door opened and instead of seeing the short haired girl with round glasses, he was met with Shiro 3. 

 

The robot was smiling at him, some sort of happy (or was he just programmed to be happy) on his face. Seeing that smile on that robot’s face was too much, too painful for Keith to bear. It just reminded him of all the times when the real Shiro would 

 

“Hello, Keith,” Shiro 3 said, eyes twinkling. He was about to speak once more but Keith stopped him. Shiro 3’s face was not doing any good for him, making him more stressed out than he needed to be, too many regretful memories rushing back at him. Keith pushed back the robot, entering the loft without Shiro 3 fully letting him in. 

 

Just as he entered Pidge’s loft, she herself was walking out of the bathroom, wearing sweatpants too baggy to the point where she had to roll them up and her short hair tied up into a very short ponytail. She even had green, fuzzy slippers on that resembled the same lion that Allura had in her room. Her face brightened when she saw him, why she would he didn’t understand, and she smiled. “Hey Keith! What brings you-” 

 

“We need to talk,” he told her, approaching her so he was towering over her and she had to glance up to see his face. 

 

Pidge’s face frowned in confusion. “What do you mean? I thought we discussed everything the other day when-” 

 

“No we didn’t. I think Voltron Allura has some problems,” he ended up revealing hotly, not even sure why he was speaking so angrily with her. He didn’t reveal it to her when they were at Allura’s home, mainly because he knew that Voltron Allura would hear. 

 

“What?” Pidge asked him incredulously, her face morphing very quickly into shock. “Do you want to repeat that again?” 

 

“I think Voltron Allura has some problems. She doesn’t act like Allura exactly and I’ve noticed lately that she does things on her own without consulting me. She took over the press conference, last minute if I may add, then she took over half of the proposed plans I had drafted for her and made new ones! Also when she sees injured or sad people, she randomly goes up to them and hugs them!” 

 

Looking down at Pidge, he saw that she was mad. No, correction, she was furious with her eyebrows lowered and mouth in a deep frown. “You did not just say that. You should be grateful Kogane, Hunk and I saved your sorry little ass. Without us, you wouldn’t even be in the position you are now, you big complainer.” Her voice raised as she spit out words at him, her chin jutting out more towards him as she tried to reach his height. 

 

“Well, I wouldn’t be complaining if Voltron Allura didn’t have these problems!” 

 

“Voltron Allura is a learning robot. You literally threw her into this mess without real instruction. You gave her days as opposed to twenty-four years of life!” 

 

“Are you judging my ability to teach things?” His mouth turned into a scowl. 

 

“Yes! And now I’m judging your ability to do anything but scowl!” she shouted at him. 

 

“I do other things than scowl!” 

 

“Guys!” a third voice injected tiredly, interrupting their argument. The both of them turned to see Shiro 3 blankly staring at him and Hunk sleepily getting up from the coach, rubbing his eyes as he turned towards them. “Can you please stop arguing like a married couple? Look, Keith we get that Voltron Allura isn’t suited towards your tastes but we tried really hard. And again she’s a learning robot. Also Pidge, can you stop insulting people when you’re angry? It doesn’t help the situation at all. Now please make up or kiss, I don’t care. I’m going to go back to sleep.” 

 

He ended up blinking at Hunk, a little bit uncomfortable with what he said, especially the kissing part. A slow redness spread over his cheeks. There was no way he would kiss Pidge to “make up” with her. 

 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Pidge look a little panicked at Hunk’s words too. At least that was something they both could relate to. 

 

Taking a deep breath and feeling awkward, he turned to Pidge, “I’m sorry about what I said. I was frustrated and stressed and I took it out on you. You’re the smartest person I know and I know you didn’t mess up on Voltron Allura.” 

 

Pidge glanced up at him for a moment, gnawing on her lip before glancing down at her green fuzzy slippers. “It’s alright. I’m sorry too. For insulting you. You do teach things pretty well and you do other faces than scowling.” 

 

“I probably deserved it,” he answered turning away to look at the floor. Awkwardness filled the silence between them, growing more apparent by the minute. Keith was never really good was people, finding it hard to connect with them over shared interests or shared experiences. He couldn’t even really deal with his emotions; rather than going into them headfirst, he locked them out, refusing to deal with them and putting up a stone-cold mask to make sure they stayed out. Maybe it was something he could relate to with a robot. They didn’t have emotions, just like he refused to deal with them. 

 

How Shiro ever managed to deal with him baffled him, then and now. 

 

But in this exact moment, he kind of wished he knew how to deal with people better so he wouldn’t have this silence. 

 

“So,” Pidge started slowly, glancing up up at him. “Did you want to talk about what’s bothering you?” 

 

He gave a weak smile then, choosing to look back down at the ground. A lot of people didn’t really offer to listen to him talk about his problems so with Pidge offering to was quite different. 

 

It was a nice different. 

 

“Maybe another time. When we’re not pressed for time.” 

 

Pidge nodded her head in understanding. “Well, if you need me, I’m here. I’m not great with people, but I’m here.” They shared a smile then, with her glancing up at him and her glasses slightly falling off her nose bridge and him looking down at her. 

 

Then a thought came to his mind and he spoke as soon as it appeared in his mind. “Actually, there is something I think you can help me with.” 

 

He took out a paper from his inner coat pocket, and unfolded it. Pidge peered over to get a better look at it and Keith explained, “This was all the recent activity I picked up from Zarkon, Lotor, and Haggar. It’s mostly money withdrawal from the bank but I have no idea why they would be taking at this amount each. Do you think you can help me look into that and looking for official documents or videos of Zarkon’s hand in murdering Allura’s parents? The video part I want to use as proof for Zarkon being guilty along with Coran’s statement.” 

 

“I need you to send a copy of whatever document you found to me online if you want me to do anything. I can’t just do anything by just looking at numbers on a paper you wrote down. And for the videos part, well Hunk and I could try our best to.” 

 

“Oh right.” Well the paper was mostly for his personal usage, but now that we was getting Pidge involved (literally and not just through Voltron Allura), he had to make sure he got her the right documents so she could look into it. “I’ll send it to you tonight when I get home. Sending it from work would be too risky, people can easily find out what I’m doing.” 

 

She nodded her head. “Sounds good. I’ll be waiting for it. And if we find anything, we’ll let you know right away.” 

 

“Alright.” Keith felt awkward again, not knowing what to say or what to do. It was very uncomfortable not knowing what to say and Keith didn’t understand why he wanted to say something to Pidge. Normally he didn’t really have the desire to bond with people. 

 

Thankfully for him, his phone rang, breaking the silence and the awkwardness between them. He got his phone out from his pocket and flipped it open, accepting the call. “Hello?” 

 

“Keith, when we get home later, we’re going to have another roommate,” Voltron Allura told him. 

 

“What?” In his mind, he couldn’t help but think,  _ Don’t tell me what I think I’m thinking _ . 

 

“Lance requested that I be watched 24/7 in case of threats to my life and other stuff, which I promptly agreed to.” 

 

What?!?! She agreed to what?! Keith’s eyes widened, his mouth forming an ‘o’, surprise running through his system. “Can you repeat that?” 

 

“Lance requested that I be watched 24/7 in case of threats to my life and other stuff, which I promptly agreed to,” Voltron Allura repeatedly perfectly, word for word.

 

This was actually quite worse than what he imagined. He feared that she would try to bring home a dog or something. Bringing home Lance was worse because Lance would overhear their conversations or even get suspicious of how Voltron Allura wasn’t human. 

 

“Why would you do this?” he gritted out. 

 

“I took Lance’s hand I could tell he was lying. I calculated it might be better if we could keep an eye on him and figure out what he wants.” Keith lifted his eyebrow at this. How’d she know that he was lying? “Is she a lie detector?” he asked Pidge after he removed the phone from his ear. 

 

“Sort of? She can detect when people are lying if she touches them.” 

 

“And my left eye winks when I detect a lie,” Voltron Allura added over the phone. “I also have super hearing. Do you want to know what other functions I have?” 

 

“Uh, not now. Tell me later.” He didn’t really have the time (or the patience) to hear Voltron Allura’s many capabilities. “Thanks for letting me know.” 

 

“You’re welcome Keith,” Voltron Allura responded. Keith could hear a hint of happiness in her voice before she hung up on him. 

 

So now, not only did he have to worry about Voltron Allura being exposed, he now also had to worry about Lance finding out about their secret and what his motive was. 

 

Great. 

 

* * *

 

 

The whole entire car ride was silent and it was very tense for Lance, who was driving them. He would’ve thought that they were talking or smiling or something that involved them not being gloomy. Keith was currently staring him through the rearview mirror with a frown on his face (seriously what was up with that guy?!) while Ms. Altea absentmindedly stared out her window with a sort of wonder in her eyes. 

 

The drive to Ms. Altea’s was impressive, greenery at almost everywhere and there were a bunch of winding, empty roads. On the GPS, it said she lived on a hill and that it was far out from the city. 

 

So when the iron gates in front of her home opened, Lance’s jaw dropped in awe as he drove in for the first time. Her house was huge and it took up a lot of space, with a sleek glass design for the entryway. The outer part of the house had that cozy wood design for the doorway, although the roof was white and seemed flat. Seeing her house reminded him of all those modern, futuristic houses and he couldn’t help but think that this house must’ve cost a fortune. (But she could afford it probably - she had the money.) 

 

He stopped the car in front of the doorway, taking a step out of the car and quickly going to Allura’s side of the car to open her door. She gave a nod towards him for opening up her door and she stepped out, grabbing her purse and laying it delicately over her shoulder. Keith had gotten out of the car already, keys to open the door already in hand. He finally chose the right key, putting the key in the keyhole and opened it, allowing them access into the huge house. Lance was about to follow them in when he realized that the car was still in front of the house and that he was the one who had to put it in the garage. 

 

“Um Keith?” The man had let Allura walk into her home first and was about to enter when Lance called his name. He turned around to look at him. “Where do I park this thing? And do I need keys to do so?” 

 

“Keep going straight ahead. The path will turn right and you’ll reach the garage then. You don’t need keys for the garage, it’ll sense the car and automatically open up for you. I’ll show to your room once your done.” He turned to go back into the house, shutting the door after him. 

 

Lance nodded, remembering the instructions and got back into the car. He turned on the engine and drove straight. As he was driving, he noticed that the house seemed even bigger as he passed by it, growing more grandeur as he got closer. It had a simplistic design to it but it still was elegant. 

 

Once the garage door opened and he parked the car, Lance got out his suitcase from the trunk and found Keith waiting for him at the garage doorway. He just nodded to him, motioning for him to follow him, leading him through a really white, clean hallway to a lavish room that was sparsely decorated; a few light fixtures hung from the ceiling with a book-shelf lining the walls and a table as a centerpiece.

 

They then walked through the kitchen, which was  _ huge _ to his standards, but it looked very pristine and neat, as if anyone barely used it. But he knew that when he was here, he was going to use it and try to recreate his abuelita’s recipes. 

 

Finally, they walked up a short winding staircase that led to a second level. “This is your room,” he said to him once they reached the top. His room was the first room in sight, door closed but it overlooked the first level. For a moment, Lance felt like he was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, being shown to a new room as she was kept captive underneath the Beast. Except, he wasn’t being kept captive; he chose to do this out of his free will to get money. (The thought of money made him happy for a brief moment, as his bank account was pretty low.) 

 

Lance opened the door to his new room, tugging his suitcase behind him as he went in. The room was nice, pretty simple and not too extravagant like the rest of the house. It was painted a light blue and the closet was big enough for a couple of suits. There was a queen bed located at the corner of the room, already set up with pillows and a fluffy comforter that was another shade of blue. Lance decided immediately that he liked this room, already wanting to fall asleep on the plush blankets. 

 

“So my room is on the first level, closer to the living room. And Allura’s room is on top of mine on the second floor, further down the hall. Don’t disturb either of us,” Keith told him, interrupting his admiration of his room. 

 

“Gotcha boss.” Keith closed the door behind him, leaving Lance alone to the comfort of his own room. 

 

“Ahh!” he yelled out in bliss as he jumped on top of his new bed. It dipped down as soon as his back made contact with it and he knew that this was one of the good beds. Ms. Altea has the money for the best things in life and it included this bed. 

 

As laid upon his bed and looked up at the ceiling, Lance reminisced on how much his life had changed within the past few weeks. First, he was rejected from the flight academy (he frowned at the thought of this, pain still lingering) then he got a job as Ms. Altea’s personal bodyguard a few days later, only to get caught in a fire that they were hosting and stuck at the hospital. And then just a short week later, he was now living in the home of his bosses. 

 

If that wasn’t a lot within a few weeks, then what was? 

 

He also couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing the right thing. Was it actually a good thing to spy on Ms. Altea, to interrupt his personal privacy? The only good thing he could think about spying on her was having her family know how she was doing. And get some money along the way. But the bad thing about this arrangement was that it was so last minute. He didn’t even have the time to tell Veronica that he was moving out for a little while. (She’d probably question him, wondering why he wasn’t home in time or why half of his closet was gone. Then he would have to tell her that he moved.) 

 

Lance let out a huge sigh, deciding he didn’t want to think about it anymore. His mind drifted to all the money he was receiving, from Keith and Honerva, and how with that money, he could pick up hot chicks with it. He could treat them out, spoil them………

 

He didn’t finish the rest of his thought because he fell asleep, leaving behind the worries of the world (and his own) outside. 

 

When he woke up, he found that it was dark outside and that drool was slipping out of his mouth and onto the comforter. Quickly wiping it away, he got up from his position and stripped out his work clothes, dressing into a comfortable shirt and basketball shorts and flip flops. He didn’t even bother putting away the clothes he had left in his suitcase, choosing to just leave the suitcase undisturbed. 

 

His stomach grumbled and he decided to go downstairs and make himself dinner using whatever ingredients he could in the refrigerator. But then he remembered what Honerva had told him to do earlier, when she had met up with him during his lunch break. 

 

_ “Here,” she had said to him, placing a bag into his hands.  _

 

_ He looked down at the bag in his hands, frowning. “What is this?”  _

 

_ “When you get to Allura’s later, I need you place this in her room. There should be a tablet in there that will give you a view of what she is doing.”  _

 

_ “Wait what?” His eyebrows shot up real quick. “You want me to place a camera in her room?”  _

 

_ Honverva frowned at him. “How else am I supposed to see my child? At work?”  _

 

_ “It’s just….” he trailed off, thinking of a million reasons why putting a camera inside Ms. Altea’s room screamed bad idea. “It’s an invasion of her privacy and I think it would be weird if I saw what she was doing in her free time.”  _

 

_ “Lance, do you want the money or not?” Honerva asked him, getting closer to his face and eyebrows lowered in vexation.  _

 

_ “Yes,” he sputtered out, suddenly afraid of this woman’s wrath.  _

 

_ “Then put the camera in her room.” She then walked off, leaving Lance stunned at what he just agreed to do.  _

 

The more he thought about it now, it still seemed wrong to do that. It was like he was stalking her even though they were in the same house. 

 

Lance decided he would turn the camera’s function off and only leave the microphone to record the audio from her room. (He really didn’t want to see video of Allura in her room, especially if she was doing things like  _ changing _ .) He figured that it wouldn’t kill him to record what she was saying within her room; it would still give Honerva and Zarkon an idea of how Allura was. (If they did ask why there was no video, Lance would just tell them that the camera function was broken.) 

 

Peeking out of his room, he went down the hall towards Ms. Altea’s room, walking quietly while doing so with the microphone and tablet in hand. Once he got there, he tried to listen to hear if Ms. Altea was in her room but luckily for him he heard no signs of life in there. Cracking the door open a little, he snuck his head inside just to make sure she wasn’t in there (his ears were perfectly fine but sometimes, he knew that he just had to double check). All he found inside her room was four cats, all lazing around on her bed. 

 

He slipped in the door quietly, trying his best not to draw attention to himself as he entered the room. Tiptoeing in, he glanced around the room, trying to the find the best place to put the microphone. Her room was oddly sparse, barely anything on the walls and nothing that really represented her. Lance made his way over to the bookcase, taking a glance at the bookcase. She had quite a few on robotics, diplomacy, and oddly enough, the history of sparkles. His mouth tilted upwards as he saw it.  _ How cute _ , he thought. 

 

Moving his eyes, he finally found the perfect spot to place the microphone: the red plush robotic lion that Ms. Altea had her on bookshelf. He had a similar one at his family’s one, except his was in blue. 

 

Giving a little grin, he moved towards it to put the microphone discreetly behind one of the lion’s ears. Once he did so, he turned on the tablet to see if the sound was working. Just as he did that, one of the cats meowed loudly and the sound was repeated on his tablet. 

 

Success. 

 

He quickly slipped out the room after that, letting out a sigh of relief once he made it back to his room. Luckily he didn’t get caught in the process. He pressed the record button on the tablet, throwing it softly on the bed after he was done with his task. 

 

His stomach grumbled again and Lance decided now was the time to get the food he was so craving. When he finally reached the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator up to only find fruit, milk, and lots of sugar, which was a huge disappointment. Lance made a mental note to go out to the grocery store to go buy food for this sparse refrigerator. Opening up the cabinets, he found one lonely bag of ramen hiding away in there.  _ Well at least there was some form of food in this house _ , he thought. After boiling the water and dumping in the brick of noodles in the boiling vat of water, his meal was quickly finished and his stomach thanked him for finally putting food in his body. 

 

Finally satisfied, Lance decided to walk around and see the house after Keith’s very descriptive house tour. Again just like Ms. Altea’s room, there was barely any personalization around, except for a few pictures on the wall. A really small one featured her and Keith as little kids, with their arms proudly around each other. The next one was her and another woman he didn’t recognize, her purple, magenta hair sticking out the most in the picture. The last one made him pause. 

 

It was one of Ms. Altea with two people smiling adoringly at her. Lance figured right away it was her parents, the infamous Alfor Altea and his wife Melenor, who tragically died under mysterious circumstances. He wondered as he stared at the picture what happened to them and that they had to leave a little Ms. Altea behind. His mind then went to Ms. Altea, wondering if he had ever seen her that happy or if she had been happy after the deaths of her parents and if she was happy in the Galra family. 

 

He shook the thought away, not really knowing why he cared about Ms. Altea’s state of happiness. He barely knew the woman and since meeting her, he hadn’t actually had long conversations with her. 

 

But still, he felt sad for her since she lost her family so young. 

 

Moving away from the pictures, he found himself outside on a patio, which overlooked a very impressive backyard. There was this gigantic pool that stretched out a good length and a wooden deck that was parallel to the pool. The lights surrounding the backyard made it look so much prettier, especially at night. And there was - wait was that Ms. Altea floating in the pool? 

 

Her long white hair was floating all around her as she stared up at the sky, her eyes blank while doing so. She looked like she was lost in thought, arms and legs spread out while she was floating. But what was more curiouser was her still in her work clothes, suit jacket and pants still on. 

 

He couldn’t help but think aloud, “What is she doing?”

 

Then the next moment he knew, Ms. Altea’s body submerged into the water, hands floating up gracefully in the water as she fell in. 

 

His eyes widened in shock and concern and he rushed down from the patio and onto the wooden deck, looking out into the water to see if she was going to rise back up anytime soon. There were no signs of bubbles from her spot in the pool, a sign that Lance took as bad. He shucked off his flip flops, slight panic rising as Ms. Altea still hadn’t emerged. Luckily he took lifeguarding a few years ago, making him qualified to save people. 

 

Then he jumped in. 

 

* * *

 

Voltron Allura stared up at the sky, floating lifelessly in the pool’s waters. (Lifelessly was a bit harsh wasn’t it? But it was true, it wasn’t like she was alive, heart beating and lungs breathing.)

 

Lots of thoughts entered her head, like the fact that Keith didn’t seem to trust her. The signs were obvious: 1) He sounded alarmed when she told him that she told Lance he could stay with them, 2) He was always handing her paperwork with ideas scribbled down on it, and 3) He kept hovering over her like she needed to be watched. 

 

If she were human, then she would have been bothered. 

 

She couldn’t help but wonder about the human Allura, the one in charge, her doppelganger, the one who was really important. Keith seemed to care for her very much, becoming defensive of her during group meetings to getting up in the other person’s face when her wellbeing was in danger. She could see very clearly how much he respected her. But how much unlike the original Allura was she? Voltron Allura knew that the human Allura didn’t smile around work, too untrusting about the people around her. But she knew that she was like that only at work, videos of practicing with Keith for hours and days replaying in her mind. 

 

So what was she really like? 

 

Well for starters, she was human, making mistakes but still trying to live. She could feel emotions and feel the things around her, like the pool that was in her backyard. 

 

Voltron Allura couldn’t do that. She knew what the temperature of the pool was, the degrees in celsius flashing in her mind. But she couldn’t feel what it felt like, couldn’t feel the supposed coldness leaking through into her pores. She also couldn’t understand the emotions people felt, like the anger that Lotor showed her or the worriedness PIdge displayed after she went into that fire. She couldn’t really project the emotions that they felt accurately and she only knew that they were forms of emotions just because her data told her so. 

 

So wrapped up in her databanks, Voltron Allura felt herself collapse into the pool, no longer floating and letting her weight let her sink down to the bottom of the pool. She sat there on the cool tiles, unblinking as she thought about human Allura. She had a lot of support, from Pidge, Uncle Hunk, and especially Keith. 

 

Then above her, she could hear a loud splash, bubbles pooling where the person entered. Glancing up, Lance’s face came out of nowhere; his arms reaching out to pull her away from the deep, dark blue confines of the pool. She allowed herself to be pulled, not really understanding why there was a sense of urgency from Lance. 

 

They both emerged from the pool with him panting for air as he stared at her, eyebrows furrowed as he held onto her wet sleeves. “What were you thinking?” he asked her quite loudly. From the tone of his voice, she concluded that he sounded concerned, maybe even worried. And this time as he spoke to her, her senses picked up that he wasn’t lying. 

 

Interesting.

 

“You’re not lying this time,” she noted aloud, staring into his eyes. 

 

“Why would I be lying?” Lance responded, eyebrow raised, his cheeks dusted in a light pink. She also checked to see if he was lying once more, only to find nothing. However, she found that his heartbeat was beating very fast again, just like the time in the fire. It was probably why he was blushing, she decided. But she didn’t understand the reason of why he was blushing; she knew the chemicals within his body caused the flushing on his face to the tips of his ears. 

 

Could it be because of her? 

 

Lance seemed to notice that she caught onto his erratic heartbeat, staring at her while she stared back at him. Voltron Allura noticed his hands were still touching her arms and he looked away from her, dropping his hands. The blush was still there as he spoke. “That’s not me. That’s your heart going super fast because you fell into my arms. Lucky you.” 

 

Voltron Allura frowned at him. “I don’t have a heart. And why would I be lucky to have fallen in your arms?” 

 

He looked back at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What? I’ll tell you a lot of women would be dying to be held by me-“ 

 

“Are you flirting with me?” she asked, after doing a quick search on men who gave out lines like that. Doing a search gave her the answer she needed and gave her databanks something to hold onto to about men, especially something about Lance. 

 

He gaped at her, mouth opening as he stared at her. Then Keith came running out, his suit jacket off but his dress shirt still on. “What happened?” he asked, his voice laced with an emotion she couldn’t recognize. 

 

In his hands there were two towels and he put both down in favor of pulling her out of the pool. Once he had successfully gotten her out, Keith put the towel around her, wrapping it around her as if she needed the warmth of it. The other one he had left there and Voltron Allura assumed it was for Lance, who was still soaking wet and in the water. 

 

“She went in-” Lance started but then Keith stopped him. 

 

“I think I got it. Come on Allura,” he said to her, guiding her back towards the house and leaving Lance alone in the pool. It wasn’t until they were back in human Allura’s room that Keith spoke. 

 

“What were you thinking?” Keith asked her and she detected anger laced in his voice. Voltron Allura didn’t answer, a new device popped up in her radar within the room, one she didn’t recognize. She sent a text to Keith (through her brain of course) and his flip phone went off with a ping. He looked down, a little confused at the phone to be ringing but opened it. His expression of anger didn’t change. To Allura, it looked like he just took in the information. Kind of like how a robot would. 

 

Keith looked up back at Voltron Allura, nodding his head at her. She narrowed in on the source, moving towards it like an animal attacking its prey. It was located near the ear of human Allura’s stuffed lion and from a distance, Voltron Allura easily hacked into it and shut it off. 

 

She plucked it from its hiding spot, holding it up for Keith to see. “What is that?” he asked her, peering closer to examine it. 

 

“It’s one of the state of the art mini-cameras from Galra Tech. KOMAR V.10,” she read aloud from the analyzing it with her scanners. “Only the microphone was turned on.” 

 

“It wasn’t there before. I think you were on to something when you decided to keep Lance around.” His comment made her smile, pleased that for once she made Keith happy. 

 

“Now we have to figure out what Lance is after since he put a camera in Allura’s room.” 

 

“Keith,” she started lightly after putting the towel around her hair in order to dry it. “Why was Lance like that?” 

 

“Like what?” 

 

“Like, all frantic and everything. He had this face of worry after he pulled me out. Why was he like that?” Voltron Allura asked once more. She didn’t really understand why people created such faces, like the context behind pulling a face. What emotion did they feel? 

 

“Well,” he said crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Voltron Allura noted that this seemed to be a favorite pose of Keith’s and stored it in her databank. “Normally when people pull a face like that, it’s because they care.” 

 

“Care? Like how Pidge cares for me and you care for Allura?” 

 

“Yeah something like that,” Keith nodded his head. “You do know what caring is right?” 

 

“Of course I do. Caring was built into my system; it’s part of my protocol to care for humans when they are sick or if they are in danger,” she listed off, knowing her protocol perfectly by her robotic heart. 

 

“I see,” Keith responded, getting up from his position from the wall. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to bed. Night.” 

 

“Good night Keith.”

 

Voltron Allura pondered over what Keith told her about caring. Lance cared about her? That seemed strange for someone who planted a microphone within her room. Why would he care about her? 

 

Lance Serrano was an interesting man and Voltron Allura decided to keep an eye on him, to watch his every move. 

 

\---

 

Honerva waited impatiently as she waited for that boy Lance to arrive to deliver her news. She had gotten a text early that morning from him, saying that he had news for her. Of course, she wanted to hear it in person. 

 

That girl Allura…..something wasn’t right with her. 

 

She acted funny during the conference, going up to Lance after her son Lotor slapped him. She randomly took over her son’s moment of glory. The people who were working below her were reporting that she was acting funny. Allura was even off when she gave that presentation the other day, acting quite fine even though a day earlier she was in a fire. 

 

She could only hope that maybe there was brain damage within the girl after her trip to the Czech Republic. However, there were no signs of a brain injury, no scars, no memory loss, nothing. 

 

It was quite strange. 

 

A knock on her door broke her train of thought and she motioned for the young man to come in. Lance looked quite anxious, even though the expression on his face begged to differ. His stance quite rigid too. He seemed like the type who wanted to please his superiors. Honerva grinned at the sight of him, instantly deciding that she chose him well. 

 

He still hadn’t spoken yet, still standing there in front of her desk. She was an impatient woman and she didn’t like waiting for things. “Well?” she barked out to him. “What is it?” 

 

Lance spoke out, his voice clear and sharp, just like how a soldier’s would be. She was surprised how quick his demeanor changed; however, she knew that he was trained at the Garrison. Or maybe it was just her, scaring him like she scared everyone else in this building. “Last night, Allura went underneath the water and didn’t emerge for three minutes and I thought she was drowning.” 

 

“So? Your point is?” she asked him, unimpressed. So far his report was not useful in finding out about the girl. 

 

“Once I went in to save her, we talked for a little bit and then in our conversation, she mentioned she didn’t have a heart.” 

 

Her eyebrow raised at this information. Never had this girl been so outright in her words. Did she think she was a god or something? Did she really not fear the consequences of death? 

 

What nerve Allura had, to be like this. 

 

“Is that all?” Honerva was curious to find out if Lance had more information for her. 

 

“Yes ma’am,” he answered precisely. 

 

“You’re dismissed then. Contact me when you find out anything new.” 

 

“Yes ma’am.” He bowed down to her, a trait that she favored. She wouldn’t say no to any bowing of course. 

 

Once Lance had left, a smirk graced her features as she tapped her fingers slowly against each other. 

 

She would find out what was up with that girl, no matter what it took and then bring her to her knees.    
  



	5. is it love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen to the song here: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyNj_UbVNus

_I try to act_

_as if it's nothing_

_I keep smiling_

_Whenever I close my eyes_

_whenever I think of you_

_my image in the mirror is different_

_even if my heart is tangled up and broken_

_I can't stop my feelings_

_I keep thinking_

_If I step step_

_approach step step_

_you a bit more step step_

_what would it be like? i keep thinking of it_

_without hesitation step step_

_holding your hand step step_

_if you loved me, what would it be like?_

 

* * *

 

Over the next few months, Lance reported to Honerva, reporting on the strange activity that Ms. Altea had said in her room. It was weird to him that every time he did report to her, she gave this weird evil looking grin and he couldn’t help but feel that there was something much deeper than just wanting to know about the wellbeing of her adoptive daughter.

 

But what did it matter to him?

 

He was getting paid and that was the only thing that truly mattered to him. (Veronica didn’t even understand how he was getting paid that much and Lance hadn’t bothered to tell her that Honerva was paying him as well.)  


Even during those few months, Keith acted suspicious around him, treating him slightly cold and giving him the cold shoulder. He barely said more than a few words to him, both at work and at home and Lance didn’t understand why he was acting this way. It wasn’t like he did anything to the dude. (Or maybe Keith realized that he was better than him and was giving him the respect he deserved.)

 

Ms. Altea on the other hand…...she was different.

 

It seemed like she paid more attention to him, staring at him in the eye, staring at him when his back was turned to her, staring at him when he was across the room. Somehow with her attention on him, it felt weird, considering how in the pool she didn’t understand that he threw a pick-up line at her. Of course, he stopped out of respect to her, not wanting to confuse her even more. (He even stopped flirting with other girls too, not really interested in doing so.) In his deepest gut however, it told him that she wasn’t staring at him for reasons that he hoped for it to be.

 

But something about her made him blush or heart beat beat fast every time they made eye contact or even when she had to take his hand to get out of the car or stuff. And he didn’t even know why he was starting to have bodily reactions. He didn’t even like her that way! (She was his boss; he was pretty sure that having feelings for your boss was off-limits.)

 

He noticed that it started to get worse after the incident after the pool, when he was looking for his blue bracelet, the one that his abuelita gave to him. At work, Lance had reached to twist the little bits of string, a habit he had formed when he was bored or anxious, but he had found that it wasn’t there on his left wrist. He had then remembered that the last time he remembered having it was the day he moved into Ms. Altea’s and then he came up with the idea that he probably had dropped it into the pool. He went to search for it in the dark, glancing at the pool’s waters to see if it had dropped in but was met with too dark of waters to actually see anything.

 

“What are you doing?” Ms. Altea’s accented voice had asked behind him.

 

He turned around to see her, dressed still in her work clothes, a fancy pencil skirt paired with a white dress top. Her long white hair spilled behind her, stray hairs sticking up and out.

 

“Oh, um, looking for my bracelet. It means a lot to me,” Lance explained to her, looking back into the water even though he knew it was pointless. Explaining something that was personal to him made him feel really shy.

 

“What does it mean to you?” she asked him, voice curious. He wondered what prompted her to ask him that.

 

“Well, my abuelita gave it to me after my abuelito died. She said that the bracelet represented all the love he had for her and he made it for her when they got married. But then she passed it on to me, saying that this was the love that our family had for me and to give it to someone that I would love in the future. Ever since then, the bracelet has been my source of comfort, to remind me of my family,” he looked down with a little smile, a little sad that his family was sort of far away.

 

Ms. Altea didn’t respond, instead choosing to put her hands in front of his eyes. “Wha- What are you doing?” Lance asked with confusion slipping into his voice.

 

“Just wait.”

 

And so he did wait, trying to not focus on the fact that Ms. Altea’s hands were around his eyes. It felt too intimate for him, especially since they were only boss and subordinate. Lance could only imagine what Ms. Altea was doing. Was she tippy-toeing to reach his eyes? (She was a good inch shorter than him he noticed.) What was her face like as she had her hands around his eyes?

 

Then she took them away, revealing the whole backyard glimmering in light, shining on the pool and giving him a clear view of the waters. His eyes widened. With all the lights on in the backyard, he could clearly see his bracelet at the bottom of the pool.

 

“Thank you,” he said to Ms. Altea genuinely, a smile lacing his features. It didn’t even matter what she did while she had her hands over his eyes. It was touching to him that she chose to help him.

 

“Make you sure you don’t lose it next time.” Ms. Altea told him, a little harsh. However her voice softened a little bit at her next words. “Your abuelita will be sad if you do.” Then she walked off, leaving him to stare after her.  

 

Even though he was able to retrieve his bracelet, he still thought about how her hands were around him, shielding his hands from whatever she did and her kindness from that night. And he couldn’t forget about how she held him in her arms in the fire, carrying him like he was dead weight. Or how she hugged him after he was slapped. From that point onwards, they had these weird, intimate moments between them, at work, at home, and in public but Lance tried his best not to look into it.

 

He didn’t have feelings for Ms. Altea. And he was going to make sure it stayed that way.

 

* * *

  

One day, he caught a really interesting conversation that Keith was involved in, voice raised on Keith’s side.

 

“What?” he heard Keith say over a cup of coffee. Lance peeked over to get a view of his boss’s face, only to be met with the backside of it. “What do you mean bring her here? It’s not safe here.”

 

There was silence filling the kitchen for a few moments before Keith spoke up again. “I understand,” he said, but he sounded frustrated. “When you get here, I’ll have everything set up at the Castle of Lions Hospital. I’ll leave right now.”

 

Keith hung up on the person, putting his phone away into his pocket and headed off, walking off in the opposite direction. Lance frowned. Usually Keith never took off, always telling Ms. Altea about his whereabouts and what he was doing. It was rather odd. He decided that he should figure out what Keith was up to. It could be a threat to Ms. Altea’s safety, since Keith didn’t seem to tell her what was going on.

 

He figured that he had enough time to tell Ms. Altea that he needed to go visit his sister Veronica, hail a taxi, and then go follow after Keith, wherever the heck he was going. He raced towards Ms. Altea’s room, heading up the stairs and down the hallway to her room.

 

Lance knocked first and he heard a muffled “Come in” from the other side of the room. He was met with the sight of Ms. Altea looking down at one of those small portable vacuum cleaners, a little smile on her face.

 

She looked up at him, face reverting back to a neutral expression. Ms. Altea did that a lot with him, face looking happy one moment and then some other look than happy when she saw him. Lance supposed when he entered the room, she always thought he was Keith, a person she trusted a lot.

 

“What is it?”

 

“My sister Veronica is at the hospital,” he lied easily. The words, however, felt very bitter on his tongue. “And she needs me with her. Like right now. I just wanted to let you know before I left.”

 

Ms. Altea just nodded her head. Her next words surprised him. “Take one of the cars. It’ll be much quicker than taking a taxi.”

 

“You mean it?” he couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice as he spoke. She nodded her head again and Lance smiled. “Ah thank you so much Ms. Altea!”

 

He bowed to her before leaving (it unfortunately had become a habit), racing down the stairs and taking the keys from the little rack located in the kitchen. Pressing the button on the keys once he was in the garage, it unlocked a dark blue sports car. Lance grinned at the sight at this car, it was one of the coolest looking cars Ms. Altea had and he was pretty excited to be driving it for the first time. He got into the car, instantly liking the feel of the seats and the wheel underneath his hands. Before turning on the ignition to set off after Keith, he put in the address for the Castle of Lions Hospital, frowning a bit when he saw where it was located.

 

It almost looked like it was in the middle of nowhere. There were no houses located nearby and it looked like it was a bit far out from the city. This only made it more suspicious to Lance.

 

Why would Keith choose a hospital so far out?

 

Well he would if he had something to hide.

 

He didn’t even know why he was suspecting Keith in the first place of doing something wrong. But then again, Keith was so silent and acted weird around him; he could have like a dozen things he was hiding. Plus, who was the “she” that Keith was referring to? A secret girlfriend? His mother?

 

Turning on the ignition, he started driving towards the Castle of Lions Hospital. It was a rather long drive from Ms. Altea’s house, about almost 15 minutes away by car.

 

He finally reached his destination and he quickly parked the car, getting out. The hospital was quite big, with two building that had more than 10 floors high and a clear glass bridge that connected the two buildings. He didn’t really understand why this hospital was so far out from the rest of the city if it was this big. From a distance Lance could see Keith’s retreating figure, heading towards the hospital doors. He followed him, jumping behind bushes in case Keith decided to look back. Once he entered the hospital doors, he didn’t know which direction Keith went in. He glanced around, looking for the scowling man but was met with various people in white colored clothing, who were all busy doing something.  

 

Lance decided he would just look around for the man himself, instead of relying on asking people. He spent the next ten minutes trying to find Keith, but he didn’t find him. He was on his last limb and he went outside on the bridge to see if Keith had left the hospital. Right as he was walking across, he noticed a doctor pushing along a gurney from an ambulance. Normally something like this wouldn’t catch his eye, but there was a sheet on top of the person’s face and when the wind blew, it pushed it back, revealing a face.

 

His eyes widened at the sight.

 

It was…..Ms. Altea?

 

He blinked again, trying to see if what he was seeing was real or not. Opening up his eyes, the sight still didn’t change. It was still Ms. Altea, lying comatose in a gurney. Her eyes were shut closed, a bandage wrapped around her head, and a breathing mask was over her mouth helping her to breathe. She looked oddly peaceful, despite everything on her.

 

This didn’t make any sense to Lance. He just saw her minutes earlier and she was alright. Unless Ms. Altea had a twin. Yes, that had to be the reason why. She had a twin that no one talked about. But why no one talked about her was the real question.

 

As he was too busy staring at twin look alike of Allura, he heard footsteps approaching. Of course he didn’t look up; Lance thought it was just a random doctor or nurse or even patient passing him by. But as the footsteps came nearer and actually stopped, he turned around to see none other than Ms. Altea standing there, face displeased as she stared at him. He only stared at her back, eyes wide with shock. Looking back at the version of Ms. Altea in the gurney, he saw that the doctor quickly noticed that the sheet came off and put it back on again. Lance only wondered if Ms. Altea noticed that she had a look-alike down in the gurney. It seem to look that way as he glanced back up to look at her.

 

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, voice tinted with anger. “You said you were going to go visit you sister in the hospital. This isn’t the hospital.”

 

“Well this is-” he started but Ms. Altea cut him off.

 

“Don’t play smart with me Lance. I already checked if your sister Veronica was here and she wasn’t listed at all. Now tell me immediately why you were here.”

 

“I heard Keith talking on the phone and he rushed out immediately,” Lance explained to her quite hurridley. “I found it strange since Keith normally tells you everything. I thought it could be a threat to your safety.”

 

“Keith is one of the most trustworthy people I know. I trust him with my life and I don’t need to be told everything he sets out to do. I can protect myself you know. I’m strong enough. I don’t always need a man to protect me,” she responded firmly, eyes deadset.

 

“Yes ma’am,” was all he ended up saying to her, too blown away by her words.

 

“Now, you can take the car back to the house and wait there until Keith and I return,” Ms. Altea directed him, voice authoritative.

 

He nodded his head mind too wrapped up about what he just saw.

 

Why was there a woman that looked exactly like Ms. Altea in that gurney?

 

* * *

 

Voltron Allura walked towards one of the hospital rooms (the private suite Keith requested) and she couldn’t help but wonder about the human Allura. What did she really look like in the flesh and blood? Well she knew that she was modeled after human Allura, down to the very last detail. Pidge was good at that, creating AI’s that resembled the humans.

 

She also wondered about what it would be like to be in the same room as human Allura. Would people get confused between the two of them? Would it be easy to figure out which one was which? Could human Allura easily take her place as she did in hers?

 

There were a lot of questions going around in her computer brain. She felt the need to call Pidge and Uncle Hunk and ask them a million questions (Would you be able to tell the difference between me and the human Allura like the parents did in the Parent Trap?).

 

A beep sounded out and Voltron Allura looked down at where the ringing came from, which was her watch. It read a 3, which meant it was getting low soon. Mentally she saved the thought of when she got home later, she would need to replace the battery.

 

Finally reaching the door to where human Allura was supposed to be laying, Voltron Allura paused. Would it be too weird if the two of them were in the same room? She felt that Keith, no doubt, would be uncomfortable seeing the two of them in one room as she remembered the first time he saw her. His face held a face of discomfort, a face she later was able to identify on Pidge. But he seemed to just live with it, not making a move to change anything about the situation he was in.

 

Pushing the door open, she only found Keith and an empty bed in the room.

 

“Why did you come here?” he asked her as he approached her.

 

“I hacked into the GPS on the car that Lance drove and I calculated you needed a distraction,” she stated. “From the time that the human Allura was loaded out of the gurney and wheeled into the hospital, Lance would have been able to have to figure out which room Dr. Shay was headed to and then slip in to see human Allura.”

 

Keith gave her a relieved smile then. “You made the right call Voltron Allura.”

 

His praise made her smile. He seemed to do that a lot more these days, noting on how the project was developing smoothly and how she was able to take on the meetings.

 

“Where is human Allura? I don’t see her anywhere.”

 

“Dr. Balmera and I determined it would be better to put her in another room than this one. It would be easy for Lance or other people to find her. And Pidge said it might be for the best that we keep you apart.”

 

“Why?” Confusion filled her systems. She didn’t understand why Pidge thought it would be best to keep them apart.

 

“Well, we don’t know how you will react to seeing her. You could get angry,” Keith said, stating the last statement as if it were a point.

 

“But I can’t,” she responded back simply. “I’m a robot. I don’t have emotions. I can’t feel that.”

 

“I know that. But we don’t know what will happen in the future. Pidge, Hunk, and I just want to keep you two safe. And if it means that we have to keep you apart, then that’s what we’ll do.”

 

Voltron Allura nodded her head, accepting the information that Keith had just presented to her. Pidge, Uncle Hunk, and Keith cared about her. That’s why they were doing this. “Okay.”

 

“You can go back to the house. I’ll talk to you later once I talk to Doctor Balmera.”

 

She nodded once more at Keith’s command and was prepared to leave, but a thought entered her mind. It was an important question, one that would give her more information about human Allura.

 

“Keith,” she turned around to face him. “What was human Allura to you?”

 

Shock was evident on his face. Clearly it looked like he wasn’t expecting her to ask him such a question like that. It subsided quickly and he answered her. “Allura is my best friend; she’s practically my sister since we grew up together. My older sister, since she’s older than me. Because of how kind and good she is, it makes me want to protect her, to make sure nothing hurts her.”

 

Affection for human Allura was all over his face, she noted. She filed away what he said about human Allura, putting down their names down as siblings respectively underneath the profiles she had for them. “Okay,” was what she answered with, leaving soon afterwards and entering what was known as the dreary hospital hallways. (She learned that from Grey’s Anatomy.)  

 

It made more sense about why Keith acted the way he did. She knew that there were many types of love (eight to be exact according to the Greeks): the romantic love (the one she had seen on the TV), the familial love, the friendship love, the playful love, the self love, selfless love, and others. But it was the first time she really saw love presented in front of her. It was quite beautiful, she determined, even though it was just familial love.

 

So if Allura was Keith’s older sister, did that mean that she was in turn his younger sister since she was also an Allura as well? Could she call him her older brother?

 

Voltron Allura continued to ponder this thought, thinking out the logistics of it as she left the hospital. She didn’t even know why her system was so fixated on the idea of Keith being her “older brother” but maybe it was the idea of having someone close to her that attracted her to the idea.

 

* * *

 

Keith walked towards Allura’s new hospital room, eyes on the lookout for anyone who could be looking for him or Allura. Having Lance here was a close call and Keith was grateful that Voltron Allura was able to stop him from doing anything afterwards. He felt sort of bad for underestimating her, but at the same time, what was he supposed to expect from a robot? He had never worked with one before, didn’t really know how one would act (besides the obeying the commands thing) , and didn’t know whether Voltron Allura would try to rebel or not. (Keith still remembered that one Avengers movie where the robot tried to take over the world.)

 

Stopping in front of Allura’s room, he pushed it open to find two more additional people than Coran and Allura with no Doctor Balmera in sight.

 

“Hi Keith,” Coran greeted him, a tired smile gracing his usual eccentric face.

 

“Mom?” he asked confused. “What are you doing here?”

 

His mother was currently seated by Allura’s bedside along Coran, who sat right next to her.

 

“Doctor Balmera called me. I am listed under Allura’s family besides you know,” she told him without raising an eyebrow. Krolia was listed as Allura's mother, instead of Honerva, as Allura saw Krolia as the person who raised her after her parents died. Somehow Keith forgot about that in the midst of all the craziness that had happened.

 

“I remember that now. But why are you here?” Keith directed this question towards the other person in the room, who had a laptop seated on her lap. It was open but they weren’t paying attention to it, focusing their attention on him.

 

“Well, Shay said that Allura was coming in to the hospital so Hunk was then saying maybe you needed backup, like a person who needed to watch over Allura so here I am! Plus I found things that I needed to tell you.” Pidge rambled, sticking her hands out but it seemed very awkward for her.

 

“How did you get in?”

 

“Shay said I needed to say I was family, but of course they would ask how I was related to her, like if I was a sister or something sooooooo I said I was her sister in-law.”

 

“Her what? She doesn’t have a sister in-law! How would she have a sister in-law?”

 

“How else would she have a sister in-law?” Pidge asked him, frowning. Keith didn’t understand why she was frowning at him but then it dawned on him on what she meant.

 

“Oh…” he muttered out, his face turning red out of embarrassment. Pidge saying she was married to him was embarrassing; him and Pidge wasn’t really something he thought of (well it was once, after Hunk called them a married couple). Keith still wasn’t over his last relationship to be invested in another.

 

He looked over to his mother and Coran, who were both giving little chuckles. His mother spoke up, mirth in her tone. “I like this one.”

 

“What?” Pidge and him said at the same time (Pidge was more like squealing). He felt himself redden even more and looking over at Pidge, he saw that she was turning red too and was trying to hide her face by looking down. The sight of them blushing only made Krolia and Coran laugh a little louder and him partially annoyed.

 

“Alright, alright,” Keith started despite the heat on his face. “Let it all out already. We have bigger things to discuss. Coran, why did you guys come here?”

 

Although he appreciated seeing the older man again, it was strange that he had to bring Allura back here, back where pretty much all the danger was.

 

“I didn’t want to,” Coran said, shaking his head. “But Matt and I didn’t have a choice. Someone came into the house two days ago, gun in hand but we were able to stop him. We believe that man was the person who orchestrated Allura’s hit and run. Matt stayed behind to see if he could apprehend the man and also work out what else the chip could do but I’m pretty sure that he knows that we’re here and followed us.”

 

“Chip?” Pidge asked.

 

He held up his wrist, showing off the band surrounding his wrist. “There’s a chip in each identification band that allows the mind to be controlled. Electrical currents are sent to the brain, preventing people from doing certain things that the company doesn’t want us to do. Matt got it out before I left the Czech Republic.”

 

“So how did he know that it was in there?”

 

“It had him do something that he and his father would choose not to do,” Coran told her, voice somber. “They forced them to comply with their policies, their experiments, even if it was inhumane.”

 

The news of Matt and Sam Holt being forced to comply was news to Keith. Pidge froze and Keith could tell she was instantly affected when Coran told her that her family members were forced to do things they refused to agree to. But her face said that she knew all of this already, probably because of letter that Matt had given to her. The idea was really terrible, disturbing more like. No one would ever want to see people being taken of their free will.

 

“So what do you want to do with Allura? People are eventually going to find out that she’s here and the one we have at work is a robot,” Keith said and immediately thought to Lance, who may or may not have seen Allura coming in to the hospital.

 

“Coran and I can watch over her at all times,” Krolia stated, nodding to the man.

 

“But you have a job Mom! With the Blade,” Keith protested. “Look I appreciate you being willing to help us out-”

 

“Keith,” Krolia’s stern voice stopped him. “Allura is one of my children. I’m not going to leave her.” Her eyes were determined, caring as well as she lightly grasped Allura’s hand. This was the first time he had ever heard his mother so boldly say that Allura was one of her own.

 

“Fine. But you and Coran have to keep me updated if anything changes or happens.”

 

“We will,” Coran promised him. “We want to see Allura safe just like you Keith.”

 

Keith nodded his head, staring at. “I know.”

 

* * *

 

Pidge followed Keith out after bidding a brief goodbye to the adults in the room. (“Goodbye Katie!” Coran waved at her. She was secretly convinced that Coran saw her as a Matt look alike. But who didn’t see them as look alikes?) With her laptop safely in the confines of her backpack, she sort of struggled to keep up with Keith, who was walking at a fast pace towards the elevator. This was one of the moments when she cursed her short legs.

 

When she finally caught up to him in the elevator (thank the stars he stopped, she was a little bit out of breath if she had to be honest), she peered at him, trying to examine his face. “What’s got you in a pickle?”

 

“A pickle? I don’t have a pickle with me.” Okay, something new about Keith. He didn’t understand slang or idioms.

 

“You know when you’re in a situation and you’re unhappy?”

 

“Oh. It’s nothing.”

 

“It’s not nothing,” Pidge countered back. “Look, I’m going to repeat this again. I’m not good with people enough to really be comforting or anything, but I can listen. I’m great at listening.” It was true. She had to deal with Hunk and Shay when both of them had problems (with each other, with life, etc.) and she didn’t say a word when they went on for hours. Still, she wasn’t really great at comforting them, words of comfort falling awkwardly out of her mouth. Pidge was better with technology and computers; she spoke the language of coding, not humans unfortunately.

 

“And it really looks like you need someone who can listen to you,” she continued on.

 

Keith studied her for a moment, deciding whether or not it would be a good idea to trust her. “Not now.”

 

“You do that a lot don’t you,” Pidge said aloud, immediately regretting it soon afterwards. She had a tendency to say whatever was on her mind but that often got her into trouble.

 

“What?” Keith turned to her, eyebrows scrunched up.

 

“You tend to deny things or push it back, especially when you feel uncomfortable with things. It’s as if you’re….afraid to talk about how to feel?”

 

“How did you know that?”

 

“I’m just really observant. I knew that Hunk felt something for Shay the moment after they met. I knew that something was bothering Matt at work but he didn’t say anything. And it’s clear you’re just not good with feelings,” Pidge stated. “Am I right?”

 

He stared her once more and Pidge didn’t feel scrutinized underneath his gaze. “Yeah,” he finally admitted. “I’m not a people person either.”

 

Just like her.

 

“But look, my feelings are not important right now. What’s important is the mission,” Keith deflected, steering the conversation away from him. Pidge didn’t know why, but a sinking feeling entered her stomach at Keith’s diversion of the topic. Some part of her wanted Keith to reveal how he felt, to tell her everything on his mind. Something about Keith’s broodiness, his quietness, and the mystery that surrounded him (even if they weren’t all that close) was intriguing to her. And she wanted to be the first one to crack the mystery that was Keith Kogane.

 

She looked down in disappointment. “Of course,” she responded, purposely changing her tone from a friend to a professional co-worker. “Did you want me to tell you everything that Hunk and I discovered now?”

 

“Tell me in the car. I’ll drive you home and you can tell me then.” Drive her home? That made her eyebrows rise.

 

“Alright sir.” Luckily for her the elevator door opened, allowing her to escape from being too close to Keith. And she ended up missing the little frown he had on his face as he watched her walk out of the elevator. They didn’t speak the whole entire walk back to Keith’s car and Pidge was determined to keep it that way. She just felt awkward with Keith, especially how he rejected her offer of being a listening ear and it felt even weirder with that weird sinking feeling in her stomach.

 

Once they got into the car, Keith broke the distant silence between them, voice _too professional_ for Pidge’s tastes. “What is it that you found Pidge?”

 

Taking out her laptop from her backpack, she opened it up, revealing all the data and information she had collected over the past few weeks. “Alright, so once hacking into the feeds about the copious amounts of money that the Galras pulled out of their bank account, I was able to figure out there were only two causes for why they took out so much money. For Zarkon, it’s because he needs medicine.”

 

“Medicine?” Pidge turned to see Keith’s eyebrows furrowed together in puzzlement. “Why would he need medicine?”

 

She typed in a few commands into the computer, nails clicking against the keys. How she would give just to be typing right now instead of having to talk to Keith.

 

“Apparently the medicine he needs is for….dementia,” she stated aloud to him after the computer gave her what the medicine was for.

 

“He has dementia?” Keith spoke aloud, echoing what she was thinking inside her head. If the head of Galra Tech had dementia, then why was he still running it? Unless…..someone else was running the company in his name.

“Apparently so.” She typed in a few more commands into the computer, trying to see if she could find out more but without luck, she couldn’t. Zarkon’s dementia was probably something she would have to look into more later, not on the spot in Keith’s car.

 

“What about the other cause Pidge?” Keith asked her, glancing over at her before turning his attention back on the road.

 

“It’s to pay for experimentation?” Pidge frowned at the receipt showing up on her computer screen. Listed on the receipt was at least thirty names, applicants probably, and different types of metals, each known for being apart of some sort of weaponry as well as some other ones Pidge didn’t recognize. “No, wait, they’re planning something with weapon experiments. On here, it’s showing that they paid heavily for experimental types of metal and the type of metal that’s used for weaponry in the army.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

Heck why was he asking her this? She didn’t have the answer to everything (like she was flattered that he thought of her as the smartest, the most intellectual, but seriously she didn’t have the answer).

 

“I really don’t know,” she admitted, which kind of was a punch to her pride. She sort of hated admitting she was wrong or when her tech went wrong; it was like saying she wasn’t smart enough. “But I am guessing that they want to use this or whatever they’re planning to build.”

 

“Mhmm,” Keith nodded his head, face focused on the road. After a few silent moments (which were awkward to say the least for Pidge), he spoke up again once pulling up in front of her. “Do you think they’re planning to do something with the chips that are installed in the identification bands?” he asked her, turning to her in his seat.

 

She thought it over. It could be that the new weaponry and the chips would be apart of whatever the Galras were planning but there was no way to be sure of that. And she told him that. Pidge continued on, “But I think if I could get in contact with my brother, we could be able to go over the ideas and data and see what we can find. More heads are better than just me and Hunk.”

 

The idea of talking to Matt, the idea of working with Matt…..it gave her hope, especially after his letter to her. She never thought she would get the chance to talk to him ever again.

 

His letter explained to her a lot of things to her, like why Matt had to go into hiding and the fate of their father and Shiro. Matt had been interning at Galra Tech, working alongside their father, developing new technology for the company. Apparently they had discovered something major (he never mentioned what they had discovered), and they went on a “business trip”, bringing along Shiro as their pilot (turned out they left because they wanted to get away from Galra Tech). However, before they could leave in the plane, the people (they didn’t know who) at Galra activated the chips within the bands. Their brains were essentially mush, Matt described it, and because they were mush, they were forced to do whatever the electrical currents had told them to do. The electrical currents were a series of orders given by the people at Galra and the electrical currents had them go sleepily into Shiro’s plane, who was still going to pilot it. (Shiro had a band too, Pidge had learned, because of his affiliation with the Holts.)

 

As all three of them were on the plane (with Shiro still flying the plane and being controlled by someone else), her father was lucky enough to break free of the mind control, using a device that was located on his neck. He had figured that Galra Tech would try to stop them from running away and would try to do the next best thing to make sure their secrets wouldn’t be exposed by the Holts - by killing them. So naturally of course, their father was already prepared for this likely outcome and created a device that would stop the electrical currents. All he needed to do was to make sure his hand would reach for his head or neck (unconsciously since his mind was being controlled by someone else), and then he would be able to break free.

 

He had awoken to find out that he was on the plane with Shiro piloting and Matt still under mind control. Sam had gotten her brother out of it quickly, putting the device on his neck and forcing his hand to reach towards it, although there was resistance from Matt’s side. Together, once Matt was free, they were able to save Shiro but they weren’t able to save the plane’s flight course.

 

Their plane was headed towards the Czech Republic, as programmed by Shiro and had destroyed any way of altering their course. Shiro, Sam, and Matt quickly got out of the plane, moments before it was going to crash, via parachutes located in the plane. Surprisingly, Coran had found the three of them (how, that was unknown to Matt). But as soon as Sam and Shiro recovered, the both of them announced they were going to go set off. Sam had claimed that it was safer this way if they separated; Galra Tech wouldn’t be able to go after them very easily. Matt had reluctantly agreed and the two men parted ways with him, leaving Matt in Coran’s care in the Czech Republic.

 

His letter was long and lengthy, but it erased all of the sadness she had over the losses of Shiro and her family. Shiro and her father were still out there but it was comforting to know they were still alive.

 

“I’ll see if I can get Coran to make sure Matt can get in contact with you,” Keith told her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

 

“Thanks Keith.”

 

“No problem. Do you have anything else?”

 

“Nope. Hunk and I are still looking for records of Zarkon hiring anybody to murder the Alteas. We’re also trying to look for videos but it’s sort of hard since it was a while ago.”

 

“ I guess you’ll call when you have something?” he asked her, a tad bit awkward but was there hopefulness that she detected? (No, she was imagining things. Why she was imagining these things she didn’t know.)

 

“I will,” she promised him. “Thanks for the ride.”

 

Pidge exited the car, heading up the stairs to her loft. Behind her, she could hear the engine of Keith’s car speeding away.

 

Somehow even though it was a while since that almost talk with Keith happened, Pidge didn’t know why she still felt so disappointed. Why should she care about how Keith felt? She barely knew the emo guy and she wasn’t even friends with him (it was more like they were work acquaintances who somehow knew the same people (aka Shiro)).

 

Trying to shake away her thoughts, she entered her loft, locking away the rest of the world out.

 

Now, this was why she didn’t interact with other people besides Hunk. Somehow she always ended up disappointed.

 

Technology never failed her though.

 

* * *

  

Lance gave a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

 

Who was that in the gurney?

 

He was pretty sure that it was Ms. Altea (the woman looked exactly like her!) but at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had an identical twin sister that no one talked about. Maybe Alfor Altea sent the second one away, knowing he couldn’t care for two children. No, that couldn’t have been the case. From what he knew about the man, Alfor seemed like the type of man who would’ve been elated with having another girl (ex. The way he looked at little Allura in the picture he saw downstairs).

 

If she was a twin of hers, why was her twin taken away from the Altea family? There had to be some reason as to why she was taken away or why no one spoke of her.

 

It was so weird seeing Ms. Altea’s look alike in a gurney. But he could only wonder what happened to her to have her in that state. She looked pretty banged up and everything, especially since she had wrappings around her head and she looked slightly pale, which probably wasn’t a good thing.

 

He figured that Honerva would want to know about there being a twin. Maybe that’s why Ms. Altea and Keith were acting so weird.

 

It was because they just figured out that Ms. Altea had a secret twin no one talked about! Lance guessed that for both of them, it was hard to process. But it must’ve been worse for Ms. Altea. Maybe she was questioning life and humanity since discovering she had a twin. (Although, that seemed a bit extreme - questioning life and all.)

 

Lance quickly sent out a text to Honerva, telling her he had news for her the next day. Like always, she never responded to his texts, but the read icon at the bottom told him that she had seen it.

 

Following that, he threw his phone on his bed before falling over on the lush comforter. Man, he was going to get paid well tomorrow and he was so looking forward to that, even though something was gnawing at his chest and trying to take over his mind.

 

The tablet that was used to monitor Ms. Altea’s words was silent, which was odd considering she spent a lot of time in there alone. He picked it from the dresser, staring at it and then deciding to poke at it. Maybe there was something wrong with it? Nothing happened as he poked it at it and it pretty much proved to him that there was nothing wrong with it, it was just silent in Ms. Altea’s room.

 

He lied back down, thinking about Ms. Altea. His viewpoint on her had drastically changed since the beginning, especially since she saved him and got back his bracelet for her. She wasn’t just a pretty, mean, upcoming CEO that he thought she would be since the media presented her that way.

 

Everything the media had said about Ms. Altea was a lie. She was kind, caring, assertive, not to mention a bit odd at some points, but she was a great person overall. Ms. Altea cared about everyone, even people she wasn’t familiar with at the workplace. She never screamed at anyone, her voice a calm, neutral tone if something went wrong. (He started to notice that Ms. Altea treated everyone respectfully, treating the development team out to lunch, and she told them to get lots of rest and drink lots of water.) And she even saved people (including him). Lance was kind of happy that he was able to work for her, seeing as his job wasn’t too hard and she was an easy person to work with.

 

At the same time however, he felt weird for giving information about her away to her adoptive mother. Honerva seemed like she had good intentions but there must have been some reason why Ms. Altea decided to cease contact with them outside of work. Telling Honerva everything he heard from Ms. Altea’s room was like an invasion of privacy, the more he thought about it. He tried to deny it at first that it wasn’t but now as he knew what Ms. Altea was like, it was. It wasn’t right that he was doing this.

 

Now he knew what was gnawing at his chest.

 

It was guilt.

 

He felt guilty for spying on Ms. Altea.

 

Lance frowned, trying to push the feeling away from his chest. He even tried pounding his heart to get it to go away.

 

Guilt still stayed there in his heart, sticking there like a stubborn mule. The more it stayed there, the more it convinced Lance that Ms. Altea didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve to have her trust, in the privacy of her own home and her office at work, be violated. She didn’t deserve to be spied on by someone who was supposed to protect and care for her. Honestly he wasn’t even doing his job properly since he was spying on her. If Honerva wanted to find things out about Ms. Altea, she should just do it herself instead of relying on Lance to do it.

 

A knock at his door startled him, making him jump up in surprise. “Can I come in?” a gruff, muffled voice asked him.

 

Great, it was Keith. Totally the person he wanted to see at the moment. Keith definitely wasn’t the one who made him feel worse about life.

 

“Yes,” Lance answered, running his hand over his face. He already knew what this conversation was going to be about. Keith was going to pepper him with questions about why he followed him to the hospital and then Lance was going to have to come up with some bullshit answer without revealing that he was also spying on him too.

 

Keith entered the door, looking very serious with his mouth was set in a scowl. He said to him, with a very demanding voice, “Why did you follow me to the hospital?”

 

Lance answered immediately, using the same answer he told Ms. Altea earlier. “I followed you because I thought you were up to something that involved Ms. Altea. Normally whenever you leave, you always tell Ms. Altea first and this time you didn’t. That seemed suspicious for me,” he lied.

 

His boss still looked pretty angry, facial expression still the same. “What did you see?”

 

“What?” he asked, pretending to be confused. “What do you mean-”

 

“What did you see at the hospital? What did you see me doing?” he pressed on, making Lance feel uncomfortable with Keith’s questioning.

 

“I didn’t see you. I lost you after you entered the hospital,” he told him. It was the truth. He did lose sight of him.

 

“And?”

 

“And what?” he asked innocently.

 

“What else did you see? Lance, I know you saw something before Ms. Altea found you.”

 

“I-” Lance stopped, not sure whether to confess to what he saw. Him telling Keith what he saw first before Honerva? Well it wouldn’t kill him to tell Keith but at the same time he wasn’t exactly sure if Keith would agree take him seriously. “I didn’t see anything,” he ended up lying.

 

Keith frowned at him, the disappointment clear on his face. “Alright,” was all he said but Lance knew from the tone of his voice that he wasn’t buying it. He walked out of his room shortly afterwards and Lance let out a sigh of relief. That was nerve-wracking for him; Keith always made him feel like there was some dire situation out there, not to mention it always seemed like the guy was mad at him.

 

Lance decided that he needed some water, throat parched since he hadn’t drinken any liquids that day. (How he wasn’t dehydrated or about to faint escaped him) He took a walk down the stairs, once more taking a glance at the empty, barren space around him. It still baffled him that the place looked so empty, even if he had been living here for a few months. Usually a house had some sort of character to it and this house had none. If he had to be honest, it kind of seemed like Ms. Altea really didn’t spend that much time at home.

 

Once he reached the kitchen and got a cup of water, he started to head back towards his own room when he caught a glimpse of Ms. Altea staring at the pictures he had seen months earlier. Her expression was one of interest, as she was staring at the pictures with curiosity.

 

Walking up to her with his cup in hand, he asked her, “What are you looking at?”

 

“I’m looking at these pictures of family,” Ms. Altea responded, keeping her eyes glued on the pictures.

 

“May I ask why?” He was slightly curious as to why she was doing this.

 

“I don’t know what it means to have a family. I never had one,” she said blankly. _Oh_ , Lance thought. It struck a chord in him, hearing her tone when she spoke. Ms. Altea’s voice made her sound like she was lonely. He knew what it felt like, to be alone in a place with your family so far away. Except, her family was gone. Dead and never coming back.

 

“How young were you when you lost them?”

 

“I……” she trailed off before staring at him. “I don’t know.”

 

Lance couldn’t read her face very well, unsure if her face was a mix between sadness or blankness. But it made him feel for her.

 

“I’m sorry,” he ended up blurting out, his voice sincere. Lance knew primarily he said it because he felt bad because she couldn’t remember her parents or her family, but another part of him knew that he was apologizing for spying on her. He felt even more guilty now about being a spy since Ms. Altea just seemed like a lonely, kind woman who didn’t have anyone to rely on (besides Keith).

 

“Don’t ask me for what I’m apologizing for because I’m not going to tell you,” Lance continued, now almost babbling at this point. He didn’t really want to explain to Ms. Altea about why he was apologizing.

 

Ms. Altea turned to him, a smile gracing her features. His heart started skipping a beat a little bit and he prayed internally for it to stop.

 

“I can tell without holding your hand that you’re telling the truth.”

 

She then gave one remaining look at the pictures then walked past him, heading towards Keith’s room. Lance was a little confused at her words but still turned around to watch her go, tons of emotions running through him as he thought over her words. His heart was still beating, _thump, thump, thump._ It didn’t seem like it wanted to calm down any time soon.

 

 _No_ , he thought, shaking his head. _I don’t have feelings, I don’t have feelings._

 

On the other hand, he made up his mind about what to do about his job. Lance couldn’t stay here at this job. He didn’t want to be reminded every day of every hour that he betrayed Ms. Altea and sold her out to her adoptive mother, even if it seemed like she had good intentions.

There was an upcoming test drive that was to be televised in a few days and Lance knew that he had to tell Honerva the last bit of information he had learned today. After that, he was going to cut off all ties with Galra Tech.

 

Lance sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, heading back towards him room to mull about what words he would tell Keith, Ms. Altea, and Honerva about him quitting.

 _Hey Keith_ , he imagined himself saying. _I’m going to quit._

 

Out of all the three, he figured that telling Keith he was quitting would be the easiest; he was pretty sure that Keith would probably be glad that he decided to quit. Keith probably wouldn’t even ask any questions. He’d just simply nod his head, tell him to leave his stuff, and then watch him leave the room.

 

His phone in his pocket started ringing, with “We Are Family” chiming out. Lance pulled it out and hit the call button on his phone.

 

“Hello?” he asked, even though he knew it was Veronica.

 

“Hello Lancito!” Veronica answered cheerfully. “How is my favorite younger brother doing?”

 

“Questioning life’s existence,” he ended mumbling out. On the other side of the line, Veronica gave out a little chuckle.

 

“Don’t we all do that though?”

 

“Well I’m doing it more than most,” Lance grumbled.

 

“What’s on your mind?” she asked him gently.

“I’m thinking about quitting ‘Ronica,” he told her, sitting down on his bed.

 

“How come? I thought you liked that job. You seemed to make a lot of money,” she pointed out.

 

“Yeah but I think there’s things that I’m getting involved in and I don’t like it,” he confessed. “Like there’s a whole bunch of family drama that I don’t know about and I’d rather not know. It seems too complicated. If people have a problem, they should be able to talk it out rather than go through me to get their information.”

 

Veronica chose not to comment on his words. Out of all of his siblings, Lance would always go to her when he needed talk because she would always just listen (and she gave very good advice too). “Lance, is that all to it?”

 

It really wasn’t. But Lance wasn’t to go tell her that he felt really guilty for spying on his boss, who seemed like she was lonely, and giving information to her adoptive mother about what she was doing. And he definitely wasn’t going to tell her about the weird instances where his face felt it was on fire when he was around Ms. Altea and how he didn’t want it to continue.

 

“Yeah. It is,” he lied to her. There was no way he was going to tell her all of that, plus he knew she would be disappointed with his choices. (He could already imagine the look of terror, then anger on her face if he did tell her. Then immediately right afterwards, she would start hitting him and yelling at him that their mother raised him better than that).

 

“I see.” Normally Veronica was able to pick up on when he was lying to her; but this time she didn’t, which was pretty odd. “When are you planning to quit?”

 

“Probably in a few days,” Lance looked over to a calendar that was hanging on the wall. It had a list of important dates that Ms. Altea had to be at. The one coming up was scheduled to be in two days. He figured that right after the driverless car test drive, he would leave right afterwards with his suitcase in hand.

 

“Did you need a place to crash?”

 

“Yeah. Thanks Veronica.” He smiled then. “You’re the best.”

 

“Mhmm. See you in a few days,” she told him and he returned the sentiment.

 

After hanging up, he realized that he had a lot of work to do. Lance had to pack up all his stuff, shove it back into his suitcase, and then find a way to zip it all up. He also had to worry about telling Ms. Altea, Honerva, and Keith about him quitting, still not sure about what words to say.

 

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his suitcase and a pad of paper and a pen to write with.

 

Time to get to work on packing and coming up with reasons to quit.

 

* * *

 

_2 Days Later_

 

Keith was busy looking through a box of files of known affiliates of Galra Tech, hoping that he could find something within this mess before the test drive. Krolia had mentioned to him yesterday that there was a box that contained most of the records of Galra Tech and those they were working with located in HR and he decided to check it out. Maybe he could find records of someone that Zarkon hired back in the day, to see if they were tied to the Alteas’ murders.

 

They were labeled by year and he ended up choosing the year in which the Alteas were murdered, which just had to be the largest out of all the stack. Shuffling through there, he read pretty much every paper, reading every description and meeting there was. Some were longer than others while some were brief and to the point. Right when he thought that he couldn’t read any more, an interesting paper caught his eye.

 

It read for Sendak Galra, a distant uncle of his and one of the many brothers of Zarkon…..and his mother. Sendak was the type of man to be feared he remembered his mother telling him. He did things that were uncalled for, his actions being classified as rash and brutal. Nowadays, he was one of the heads of Galra Tech, although he was a subordinate to Allura and Lotor.

 

He figured that this was the meeting notes of Sendak’s employment but it read otherwise. Apparently it read on the paper that Zarkon met up with him a few hours before the Alteas were murdered. It was curious to Keith that they met up as there were no details to why they met up or what they said to each other. There was no description of their meeting; it was left blank which was odd.

 

Turning it over to see if there was anything else, Keith was met with nothing as it was just a blank backside.

 

Gears turned in his head as he skimmed through the other papers, taking notice of the date. He found that out of all the meeting Zarkon had that week, Sendak’s was the only one he met up with on the day of the the murder.

 

Keith’s eyes widened at this information.

 

Was Sendak the one who murdered the Alteas?

 

This….this was a lead. He would have to look into it more, maybe ask his assistants or whoever was with him on that day. But he couldn’t do it now as much as he wanted to. Looking up at the clock, he saw that he had ten minutes before he had to show up to the test drive. Definitely it wasn’t a lot of time to do any investigating.

 

A knock on the door took him out of his thoughts. “Come in,” he said, putting away all the papers back into the box and leaving the one on Sendak out.

 

The door opened, revealing Pidge on the other side, wearing professional clothes as opposed to the comfortable clothing he was used to seeing on her. Her hair was curled into loose waves and her bangs were curled just enough so it had enough lift to them. Surprisingly, she didn’t have her glasses on but without them, he could clearly see how hazel her eyes were. But a part of him sort of missed seeing the glasses on her. (Why did he just think that?)

 

“Hi,” she said plainly, trying to avert her eyes from him.

 

“Hi,” he said back lamely.

 

They were in his office in silence, with Pidge looking around at anywhere but him. It sort of bothered him that she was doing that but at the same time he was too caught up in figuring what to say. “So, what brings you here?”

 

“You sent me here? Remember?” she frowned at him and he instantly flushed, ashamed that he forgotten that he asked her to come in case something went wrong with Voltron Allura. There had been a lot going on and he honestly was so caught up in everything else. Allura had to be moved because Coran recognized a man who he claimed was the man that was Allura’s attempted murderer. So with Dr. Balmera’s approval (she was actually more against it but Keith had to prove her otherwise), they moved Allura into Krolia’s home, where it was actually more comfortable for her and Coran. Keith had left Voltron Allura at home while he helped out, kind of unsure about her being in the same room as Allura.

 

“Oh right, that reminds me.” Pidge pulled out her phone from the pocket of her pants suit, quickly turning it on and tapping on it. Within a few minutes she was done. “I caught a blip on my radar,” Pidge explained to him. “I hacked into the camera feeds a few years back when my family and Shiro went missing. No one had ever caught on the bug in their system, too small for them to find, but surprisingly they never found out that someone hacked into their feeds. I mean, Galra Tech is supposed to have the highest-”

 

“Pidge,” he cut her off. “You’re rambling.”

 

“Oh.” A light blush formed over her cheeks but she continued on. “I meant to say that I caught something that I think would have been interesting to you.”

 

Pidge handed over her phone, a video playing on the screen. On it, he could clearly see Lance on it but it was hard to see who he was talking to. It definitely wasn’t Voltron Allura he was taking care of. Pidge spoke, pointing to the figure that  “He’s talking to Honerva.”

 

“Is there any audio that came with this?” Keith asked her, looking up at her.

She came over to stand besides him, plucking the phone from his grasp and pressing down on some buttons on the side of it. “Here,” she said handing it back to him and he could immediately pinpoint Lance’s voice.

 

“So I followed Keith to the hospital yesterday, after he got off the phone with someone. I thought is sounded kind of suspicious that he left immediately.”

 

“And?” Keith could recognize Honerva’s raspy voice from anywhere. Her voice sounded impatient and demanding.

 

“When I got there, I lost sight of him. But I saw something else that I think was more important than Keith suddenly disappearing. I saw Ms. Altea’s twin.”

 

Keith’s eyes widened. Lance did see Allura in the gurney that day. He purposely hid it from him because he was going to report it to Honerva. Oh, he was so going to fire him for spying on them. He paused the video, not caring about what the rest of the video entailed and handing it back to Pidge.

 

“So he was spying on us to report to Honerva,” he said aloud, voice getting angrier by the second. He should’ve known that something was fishy about Lance asking to be Voltron Allura’s bodyguard 24/7.

 

“It seems so,” Pidge answered. “And I looked into it and found that Lance was getting a huge amount of money in his bank account, and it wasn’t coming from Galra Tech. It was under some weird name, but after hacking into it, I found it was Honerva.”

 

Keith was mad. They had a rat underneath their noses the whole time and yet they couldn’t figure out what Lance was up to. Sure, he had Voltron Allura say random phrases that didn’t give anything away but Lance caught onto the bigger thing.

 

Their secret.

 

“What are you going to do?” she asked him as he got up from his seat behind his desk.

 

“I’m going to fire him after the test drive. If I do it now, people are going to wonder why Allura doesn’t have her bodyguard with her.”

 

Pidge nodded her head. “I’ll be down with the rest of the press if you need me,” she suddenly said, noticing how angry Keith was. Pidge left soon after that and Keith was left alone with his thoughts.

 

It took him a lot of self control not to punch the wall.

 

* * *

 

“So, how much damage can you do?” Lotor asked Acxa, arms crossed.

 

“As much as you want. It should be easy to get into the system,” she responded, fingers tapping against the keys. In a second, she was into the G car’s system. Lotor smiled at this.

 

“Why do you want to this though?” Acxa asked him, a look of uncertainty on her face. He noticed that lately about her. Even though they had been dating a few years now, he saw that ever since Kogane started working at Galra Tech, she had started to question his motives. (He didn’t even care if Kogane caught her eye; he knew that she wouldn’t leave him. Kogane wasn’t enough of a threat to him.)  Sometimes Acxa said something, but most of the time Lotor could read her face well enough to know she was questioning him.

 

“Why do you think I want to do this? To show that Allura’s project is going to be a failure.” That was the only reason. He was sick of tired of his father seeing Allura in a glorious light; it was time to show him that Allura was not that great as she seemed. And the way to demonstrate that was to cause damage to her upcoming project.

 

“But there will be someone in there in the car,” Acxa protested. “They will get hurt.”

 

“And where will the blame go on?” he countered back. “It will go on Allura’s. Then Father will finally see this project is a failure and take the funding away from it. The project will be no more and then I will be able to present what I’ve been working on.”

 

Acxa stared at him, mouth drawn into a thin line. However, she said nothing, turning back to the computer ready for whatever command he told her.

 

Lotor’s mouth slowly lifted up in the corners.

 

His plan to sabotage Allura was about to happen and it was going to be glorious.

 

* * *

 

Lance slipped on the required hat that Galra Tech required him to wear. It wasn’t bad looking, it was just a really dark shade of purple. He would’ve preferred blue to this.

 

“So this the car you’re going to be driving Ms. Altea in,” a developer told him, pointing which car he was going to drive later on. “You guys are just going to be following the G car, see if it’s working according to Ms. Altea’s taste and that’s pretty much it.”

 

“Alright. Thanks,” Lance told the guy, who in turn handed him the keys. He was already waiting for the moment this day would be over so he could walk away from this company and never look back. After telling Honerva yesterday that he wanted to stop spying on Ms. Altea, she didn’t take it very well and tried to persuade him by offering him more money. He refused, choosing to walk away instead of answering her. That of course made Honerva mad and she started to threaten him while he walked away.

 

The only thing nice about choosing to walk away was knowing that he got it over with and that he was no longer betraying Ms. Altea’s trust.

 

He peeked around the corner of the building, to get a gaze at how many people were there. It wasn’t as many as the press conference but there still seemed to be a good amount of people. Lance hoped that for Ms. Altea’s sake, the whole entire thing would go well.

 

A person tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around quickly, only to be face to face with Ms. Altea herself.

 

They were literally a breath away from each other, so close to the point their noses were almost touching. Lance’s eyes widened and he felt his heart start beating erratically. He took a step back from her, in an attempt to calm his heart, only to be back to back to the wall. She stood there, hands crossed over each other. Ms. Altea was dressed almost the same way he was, except for the jacket. She had a matching hat and white jacket with purple lining that seemed to make her eyes pop out. (Wait no he did not just think that).

 

“So you ready for the test drive?” he asked her.

 

“Yes. I went over everything with the developers and everything seems to be looking quite nice.”

 

“Ah that’s good.” Lance internally was freaking out on the inside as he said those words. It seemed lame when it came from his mouth. God, why couldn’t he be cooler??

 

“Are you nervous?” he decided to ask, trying his best to continue the conversation without sounding like a nervous wreck.

 

“Why would I be nervous?” Ms. Altea gave him a curious look. “It’s going to go fine.”

 

“You really think so?”

 

“I’m 100% sure everything will go correctly by my calculations. Just you wait and see,” she assured him. Ms. Altea gave him another smile then and Lance felt like his heart would burst because it was beating so fast. He didn’t really understand why his heart was like this. Whenever he was around girls, it was acting normally, not wanting to jump out of his chest.

 

They then heard a person announce the G car and from beside their position, Lance could hear the developers typing away. A young guy walked out, waving to the crowd while doing so, standing next to the G car. Lance could faintly hear the announcer stating that the guy was going to be in charge of making sure the G car would run smoothly within the car itself. Then a person directed him and Ms. Altea to get into the car behind the G car and they did so promptly, not speaking to one another. He opened the passenger seat for her and once she was seated inside, he jogged lightly to the driver side and slipped in.

 

The G car started in front of them, moving slowly before making its way into traffic. From the corner of his eye, he could see a screen that showed the G car’s progress as it was being driven. Lance then started the car, heading after the G car.

 

The first twenty minutes weren’t so bad. He and Ms. Altea were silently sitting in the car, just watching the G car driving around.

 

But then, all havoc broke loose.

 

The G car then swerved, almost colliding with another car in the left lane. Lance leaned forward in his seat, trying to get a better look at what was happening. “No way,” he muttered out.

 

It was still swerving and from the looks of it, it looked like it was out of control. Then it started speeding, going way past the speed limit of 45. Lance could faintly hear the screams of the guy who was in it.

 

“Go follow that car,” Ms. Altea told him, her voice oddly calm. Lance nodded his head, pushing on the gas pedal to go follow the car. As he was racing to catch up with the G car, he narrowly missed crashing into a car in the right lane, which was currently broken on the sidewalk. There were a bunch of cars that were getting out of the way of the G car but unfortunately they all ended up crashing into various objects. The guy tried to open the passenger door to get out, but it ended up getting ripped off as it made contact with the lightpost.

 

“Urgh,” he groaned as he swerved the car to avoid getting hit by the car door. Lance was almost close to reaching the G car. “What the heck is going on?”

 

“It seems like someone hacked into the G car,” Ms. Altea mused. The G car was slowly inching towards the sidewalk, and the guy who was in the car decided to take his chance to get out of it. He launched his body out of the car, rolling his body when he made contact with the hard concrete. Lance winced as he saw the guy get out; hopefully he was alright.

 

“Lance, I need you to get me closer to the G Car,” he heard Ms. Altea tell him.

 

“Why?” he shouted back, still trying to get closer to the G car.  


“I’m going to go stop it,” she firmly stated.

 

His jaw dropped at her statement. “You are going to what?”

 

Ms. Altea never responded, instead opening up the passenger door. Lance had perfectly aligned the car to match the G car’s speed and she climbed out, leaving him to scream at her. “What are you doing?”

 

She managed to climb on top of the car and Lance could hear her moving on top of the car. Internally, he was freaking out about what she was doing and was praying to whatever god there was above that she was alright. Ms. Altea was crazy for getting out of the car but he still worried about her. Then he heard a whump and the scraping of something against the pavement. His car slowed down and he was afraid for a moment that he had hit something. The car cameras looked like they were fine and when he looked up on the road, he found himself greeted by the sight of seeing Ms. Altea lying sideways, barely clinging onto the car.

 

“Oh my god!” he shouted out, eyes wide in concern. She was in serious danger, oh god. He had to do something. Pushing the gas pedal, he tried to catch up with them.

 

Then just like one of those action heroes, Ms. Altea managed to climb herself up into the passenger seat. Lance gaped at that. How did she do that? But more importantly, how was she going to stop that car that was out of control?

 

As they were speeding on, Lance could see that they were coming close to an T-intersection and from the left, a truck was approaching. “Oh my god,” he muttered out once more.

 

Ms. Altea was in there still and the car still hadn’t slowed down. _She’ll be hit_ , Lance thought in terror.

 

Just as it seemed like the truck and the G car were about to make contact, the G car ended up slowing down, barely missing the truck and it made a U to the left. The truck swerved out of the way and when Lance didn’t hear the sound of vehicles crashing, he let out a sigh of relief.

 

Ms. Altea was alright.

 

She was alright.

 

She was in one piece.

 

He was so glad she was alright to the point where he felt like crying.

 

The car caught up to where Ms. Altea was and he quickly killed the engine, running out of the driver’s seat and rushing to where she was. _She’s alive_ his mind repeated to him over and over. As he approached the G car, he saw that she was sitting in the driver’s seat and she made her way out of it once she saw him approaching.

 

“Ms. Altea!” he breathed out. “Are you alright?” _Oh no_ , he thought worriedly as he saw her face upon closer inspection.

 

“You’re hurt!” On Ms. Altea’s face, there was a scratch with the skin turning red. He touched her face, not caring about her privacy. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” Lance asked, almost hysteric. She was hurt, she was bleeding. Oh god. She wasn’t alright.

 

Lance turned her body around to see if she was hurt anywhere else. Then he froze at what he found.

 

On Ms. Altea’s back, there was a huge slash in her white-purple jacket. Instead of what should’ve been light brown skin with blood pouring out of it, he was met with the sight of light brown skin with metal plating and technology.

 

His eyes and mouth opened in horror.

 

_What is this?_

 

Ms. Altea turned to look at him and Lance then realized that Ms. Altea didn’t look like she was in any pain. Normally people who were in pain had a scrunched up face, maybe screaming out in agony because of how much pain they were in. Her face was a sort of neutral, with her blue eyes staring at him curiously.

 

She took a step closer to him and he a step back, afraid of what she was. Ms. Altea then took another step and Lance took more steps back, tripping then and falling onto his back. He ended up just staring at her, with horror in his eyes.

 

“What are you?” he whispered out afraid.

 

Ms. Altea was still staring at him and Lance then realized now that her face seemed blank. A car then came out of nowhere and it was a car that Lance was familiar with.

 

It was Keith’s.

 

The car window rolled down to reveal the familiar face and he shouted at Ms. Altea, “Get him in the car!”

 

His eyes widened once more. Ms. Altea came to approach him, grabbing him by the arms and dragging him towards the backseat of Keith’s car. “No! What are you doing? Don’t touch me! Where are you taking me!” he screamed out, afraid of the situation he had gotten himself into.

 

Now he was sort of regretting leaving the Garrison and not continuing to be a cargo pilot.

 

If he didn’t decide to leave, he wouldn’t be in this position, being abducted by Keith and whatever Ms. Altea was.

 

Yeah, he really regretted it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading everyone!


	6. who you are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the song featured for this chapter! 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dSFSuRAp0I

_ You seem like a good person _

_ You always seem warm _

_ I have a lot of questions _

_ I won't say goodbye _

_ You don't even know how to get angry with that bright face _

_ You seem like a good person _

_ Who will come first? _

_ Every single day, I have something to say _

_ Say what to say _

_ After all who knows, who you are _

_ Who you are, who you are _

 

* * *

 

“Where are you taking me?” Lance yelled at Keith once he was situated in the backseat of Keith’s car. Ms. Altea slipped in as well, not even paying attention to Lance’s screams and closed the door. Keith didn’t respond, instead choosing to start up the car and Lance yelled at him once more. “I demand you to tell me where you’re taking me or I’m going to scream at the top of my lungs.” 

 

Once again Keith didn’t respond and then Lance decided to start screaming. “AHHHHHHHHH HELP ME I’M BEING ABDUCTED!” 

 

Looking at the rearview mirror, he could see Keith wincing as Lance’s screams and a look of irritation washed over his face. He gritted out, “Allura, can you make sure he stays quiet?” 

 

She nodded her head, moving closer to him, but Lance inched back. He really didn’t want to be close to Ms. Altea, afraid of what she was. He still remembered seeing the metal plating on her back and that was freaky. 

 

What was she anyways? 

 

A robot?

 

“Don’t get near me,” he said to her and she frowned at him. “I’ll be quiet if she stays away from me.”

 

“Pidge!” Ms. Altea exclaimed happily besides him and Lance looked forward to see that there was in fact another person in the car besides Keith. She had short brain hair that was curled, sort of reminiscent of how Veronica did her hair, and was busy tapping away on a tablet in front of her. 

 

“Allura are you alright?” she asked, turning around in her seat to get a good look at her. Ms. Altea just simply nodded her head, happy to just see her. Lance didn’t know how he knew that about her but he guessed it was just from the look in her eyes. 

 

“Is anyone going to explain anything to me?” he demanded, mostly talking to Keith. He glared at his through the rearview mirror. 

 

Pidge (that’s what he thought Ms. Altea had called her) answered for him. “We’ll tell you once we get there. There’s too many ears all around.” 

 

Lance made a face of confusion. “How could there be any ears around? It’s just us,” he motioned to around them. 

 

He heard Keith give out an exasperated sigh. “I thought you said you were going to be quiet. If you’re not I’ll have Allura do it for you.” 

 

“No!” he welped out, once again inching away from Ms. Altea. “I’ll be quiet this time. I promise.” 

 

“You better,” Keith mumbled, but Lance could hear him perfectly. 

 

He decided to see if he could figure out where they were going by looking out the window. The scenery was sort of familiar to him at first, but where they were escaped his mind. Lance gave a sigh. 

 

What was even happening to him? 

 

Just 24 hours ago, he was waiting to get through his last day of work so he could leave. Then just minutes ago, he thought Ms. Altea was hurt but it turned out she was a robot. Now, he was stuck in a car (more like abducted) with Keith, Ms. Altea, and some stranger that he had never met. 

 

Why did all the weird, strange things happen to him? 

  
  


* * *

 

Hunk finally woke up after Shiro 3 poked him a dozen times before deciding to rip off his blanket. “Humphh,” he shouted out as soon as the blanket was thrown off of him. “Why do you do this to me Shiro 3?” 

 

“Pidge has called,” Shiro 3, holding up a telephone. “She’s been trying to call you for the past 3 minutes.” 

 

“Oh,” he said sleepily before letting the words sink in. “OH! Shiro 3 give me that! Please!” 

 

Shiro 3 handed him the phone and he took it, pressing the call button on it and putting it up to his ear. 

 

“Finally!” Pidge said from the other side. “Where have you been?” 

 

“Sleeping,” he admitted. “I’m not like you drinking heavy amounts of Red Bull after working for so long. I can’t stay up! I pass out and you know that.” 

 

He heard Pidge sigh from the other side. “It’s fine Hunk. That doesn’t really matter right now. I need you to bring the toolbox to Krolia’s house.” 

 

“The toolbox?” Hunk’s eyes widened in alarm. Oh no. That could only mean that Voltron Allura was hurt. Hunk started panicking there, worrying about his robot baby. “What happened? Pidge tell me what happened?” 

 

“Hunk calm down. She’s fine,” Pidge told him over the phone. “I’ll tell you everything once you get there.” 

 

“But what happened exactly?” Hunk pressed on, trying to get Pidge to talk about what happened without revealing he was still concerned. 

 

“Some parts of her back were taken off. She literally scraped it while trying to stop a car.” 

 

“What?!” 

 

“Hunk! A little more quiet!” 

 

“How can I be quiet when our robot baby has been almost destroyed? Again?” Hunk fretted. Although he was still considered the “uncle” of the little family of him, Pidge, Voltron Allura, and Shiro 3, he still cared for Voltron Allura and Shiro 3 like his own children. 

 

“Uncle Hunk I wasn’t destroyed,” he could hear Voltron Allura say faintly in the background. “I’m fine. I don’t feel anything.” 

 

“Uncle Hunk?!?” he heard another person exclaim. The voice sounded really familiar but Hunk couldn’t pinpoint who it was coming from. “Who are you people?” 

 

“What happened to stay quiet?” Keith gritted out. Within the past few months that Hunk had known the guy, he noticed he had a low tolerance mode for keeping his emotions in check. So that meant every once in awhile, he and Pidge would see him mad. Which Hunk didn’t blame him for. The poor guy had a lot on his plate. 

 

Hunk heard Keith continue on, “I can’t drive with you screaming.” 

 

“Well that’s because you abducted me! But fine, I’ll stay quiet.” the unknown voice said. Hunk raised his eyebrows at this. They abducted someone? Oh god this was not what he was expecting. What if the police found out they took someone? They could get arrested, thrown in jail for god knows how long. And then he couldn’t see Shay-

 

“Hunk, buddy?” Pidge finally said to him, sort of whispering. Her voice had taken him out of his internal panic. 

 

“Oh yeah sorry my bad Pidge. I’ll go get the stuff now and leave.” 

 

“Thanks. You’re the best,” she told him and he could hear the smile in her voice. She then hung up on him, leaving Hunk to retrieve the toolbox that Pidge needed to fix Voltron Allura. Oh man, he really hoped that Voltron Allura was alright. The last time that he and Pidge got a call concerning Voltron Allura, they discovered that parts of her back was burnt off, wires sticking out and sparks coming out of them. It was honestly terrifying seeing their creation in that state and Hunk didn’t want to see her like that again. 

 

Instead of having to walk all the way to the workroom, Shiro 3 already has the toolbox in his hand. Hunk gave a grateful smile to Shiro 3, who had probably heard the whole conversation with his super hearing. (Voltron Allura has that too.) 

 

“Thanks Shiro. You’re the best,” he told him, taking the toolbox from him. Hunk quickly left Pidge’s loft and raced down the stairs to reach the garage where his car was. Krolia’s house wasn’t too far from Pidge’s place so luckily Hunk didn’t have to worry about traffic. (Getting to his place though was a whole different story.) 

 

When he had arrived at Krolia’s, two other cars were already parked in front of the house. One of them was Keith’s, a dark black that almost seemed that it could pass off as purple in the daylight. The other was one he recognized made him smile. 

 

Shay was here, probably checking up on Allura since they moved Allura from the Castle of Lions Hospital to Krolia’s. 

 

Honestly Hunk was glad Shay was in on this huge secret. If she wasn’t, then he would’ve felt so guilty about hiding it from her. Also he was really bad at keeping secrets so this worked out perfectly. 

He got into Krolia’s home, walking into the family room with toolbox in his hand. Hunk was expecting to see Pidge sitting around with Voltron Allura, possibly inspecting over her injuries while Keith, Shay, Krolia, and Coran were looking over Allura. 

 

But no. 

 

He was not met with that sight. 

 

Instead he found himself watching Keith very intensely tell his best friend, who was sitting on the couch, about pretty much everything that had happened while Pidge and Voltron Allura were nowhere in sight. 

 

Hunk almost dropped the toolbox in surprise.  _ Almost _ . (Pidge would’ve killed him for dropping it; it was super expensive.) 

 

“So when Allura decided to take a trip to the Czech Republic-” Keith explained, only to be cut off by Hunk. 

 

“Lance?” he cried out. Both Keith and Lance turned to him in surprise. 

 

“Hunk?” the latter said before repeating his name again in relief. “Hunk!” 

 

Lance rushed up to him, throwing his arms around him. It had been awhile since they had last seen each other but they had tried their best to talk every once in awhile. But that was months ago. Hunk returned the hug excitedly, tightening his arms around the smaller man. 

 

Lance pulled away first, looking at him with a relieved look. “It’s so good to see you! Thank the maker that you’re here.” 

 

“You too!” Hunk said, returning the sentiment. But then he gave him a look of confusion, not really understanding what Lance meant. “What do you mean by that? And why are you hear at Krolia’s place?” 

 

“It’s because he and this short woman and whatever Ms. Altea is abducted me!” Lance exclaimed, pointing to a very unimpressed Keith, who had his arms crossed. 

 

“We didn’t abduct you,” Keith started but Lance cut him off. 

 

“Yes you did! You dragged me into your car!” 

 

“Well it was either that or let you expose our secret!” Keith fired back at Lance, looking more annoyed than ever. 

 

“Our secret?” 

 

“Guys!” Hunk stepped in between the two, stopping the argument. Somehow, he knew this was going to happen. He had randomly thought about how Lance would act around Pidge and Keith (not Shay though, they had met previously). But with Lance’s flamboyant personality and Keith’s moodiness, Hunk knew that the two probably wouldn’t get along. And he was pretty much right. 

 

“Fighting isn’t going to solve anything. And neither is yelling. Look, Shay is in there doing a checkup on Allura and she can’t do that with both of you fighting.” 

 

“You’re right,” Lance admitted, which was pretty rare coming from him. The Lance he knew was more stubborn, not willing to back down until the very end. He guessed that something changed about him during the time that they didn’t talk. “I’m sorry I keep yelling at you Keith.” 

 

“And I’m sorry that I keep yelling at you too,” Keith said, though it sounded more forced than actually apologizing. Hunk didn’t comment on that though, not really wanting to get on Keith’s bad side and causing Lance to start yelling again. Luckily, Lance didn’t notice Keith’s tone. 

 

“So how are you involved in all of this?” Lance asked him, spreading his arms out. 

 

“Can I come back to you on that? I gotta give Pidge this,” Hunk told him, holding up the toolbox in his hand. Lance nodded his head (quite reluctantly) and he walked off, heading towards a random room trying to find Pidge and Voltron Allura. Behind him, he could hear Keith once more picking up on where he left on and Hunk didn’t hear a peep from Lance (which could have been interpreted in either a good or bad way). 

 

Knocking on a door that was closed, Hunk heard a muffled ‘it’s open’ from the other side. Peeking in, he saw Pidge and Voltron Allura in there, with Voltron Allura lying on her stomach on a freshly made bed with her back exposed. 

 

“Oh hello Uncle Hunk!” Voltron Allura greeted cheerfully. 

 

“Hey kiddo,” he said to her gently, dropping down to look at her in the eye. “How are you?”

 

“I don’t feel any pain,” she simply stated but it still hurt him seeing her with the synthetic skin scratched off, revealing her metal plating and wiring. Upon a closer look, he saw that Voltron Allura had light pink scratches on her cheeks. 

 

Voltron Allura noticed his staring and asked him, “Does it look bad?” 

 

“Nah, kiddo,” he said giving her a pat on the back. “You look perfectly fine.” 

 

She grabbed his hand immediately and her left eye winked. “You’re lying.” 

 

“Okay, okay,” he said getting up. “It does look a little bad.” 

 

“A little is an understatement Hunk,” Pidge said with a little huff. Her arms were crossed as she stood upright. Hunk was guessing she was stressed about Voltron Allura damaging herself; she was like that the last time they had gotten a call from Keith and he knew she was internally stressing out about how much damage was done to the AI. 

 

“But you can fix it Pidge,” he said to her, handing her the toolbox. “Just like you always do.” 

 

Pidge gave him a grateful smile before taking the toolbox. “Thanks Hunk.”

 

“No problem Pidge.” Pidge started taking out her tools and took out the special glasses she needed to wear that helped her look closely at what she needed to fix. 

 

Hunk watched her doing so, noticing the little frown on her face. “What is it?” he asked her. 

 

Normally Pidge was calm when fixing the AI’s or when she was messing around with technology. But she looked frustrated, which was normal for the small woman but not normal when she was doing what she loved. 

 

“Nothing,” she replied automatically and Hunk knew then it wasn’t related to technology or science. Pidge always had this thing of denying whatever she was feeling and he had learned that very well over the past few years that he had known her. 

 

“Pidge, c’mon,” he tried urging her. “It’s me. You can talk to me.” 

 

“I know Hunk.” she said, taking out a fine tool, one that sparked when she turned it on.

Pidge put the tool to Voltron Allura’s back. “It’s just I don’t want to talk about it right now and when I’m ready, I’ll let you know.” 

 

“Oh. Okay.” Whenever Pidge would have a problem, she would always push it away, claiming that it wasn’t a big deal and that she could figure it out on her own. Hunk knew she was troubled by her problems but he never pushed her to talk about it. He figured that it was probably best to let Pidge to tell him on her own time. Which had only happened once. 

 

Pidge never responded to his statement, focusing solely on fixing Voltron Allura’s injuries. He just watched in silence for the next fifteen minutes, mind pondering on why Lance was there and what was bothering Pidge so much. It seemed like his secret world sort of collided with his past, as Lance was his best friend in high school. 

 

He wondered what else would happen to him along the way because he was keeping Allura and Keith’s secret. 

 

Was someone going to die? 

 

Would someone get hurt? 

 

When Keith had told him the story of how Allura had almost gotten killed in the Czech Republic and how he needed his and Pidge’s help, Hunk was pretty hesitant about accepting the offer. Pidge on the other hand was eager to help and he knew it was primarily because Matt had asked her to help Keith out. Pidge never would deny something that her brother asked her; he had only gotten that because of the stories she told about him and even how she created an AI of him. 

 

She loved him so much. Matt Holt was basically her idol. 

 

He and Pidge spent a good thirty minutes debating about whether it was a good idea to help Keith (and a comatose Allura out). Pidge had pointed out that they were getting paid (paid! He remembered her emphasizing) tons of money and that this could be their entrance into the technological world. (He knew she was basically bullshitting the last part; Pidge could care less about whether she made a mark on the growing technological empire. All she cared was understanding the different technology and sciences out there.) 

 

Hunk on the other hand pointed out how much danger both of them would be. They’d be technically infiltrating a very high and powerful tech company through Voltron Allura. And if they got caught, they could be thrown into jail. Or worse be killed. (He didn’t really know about being killed but it could be a possibility.) And by putting themselves in danger, they’d be putting their loved ones in danger as well. Although Pidge only had her mother, Colleen, Hunk had tons of people he had to worry about. He had to worry about his parents, siblings, and Shay. 

 

He really couldn’t imagine putting them in danger. And he would hate himself if he did. 

 

Eventually, he caved in, remembering how desperate Keith was when he asked him and Pidge to help him after telling him what happened. He was doing it for the greater good, Hunk tried to tell himself. He was helping out people who needed his help. 

 

But he couldn’t help but be afraid. The more secrets he and Pidge had uncovered, the more Hunk became scared as they both realized they gotten themselves tangled within a huge, messy web because they decided to help out. He dragged his girlfriend into the mess too. 

 

_ How long was it going to take until Allura woke up and ended the whole mess? _   He thought.

 

* * *

 

Lance sat there in silence, staring at nothing in particular. 

 

So Keith told him everything. Just like he said. 

 

And it was quiznacking complicated. 

 

The woman he thought he was protecting was actually a robot. And the real Allura Altea was in a coma because someone wanted to kill her when she went searching for her uncle in the Czech Republic. 

 

Oh yeah, there wasn’t any twin. It was just Allura being wheeled in a gurney. 

 

His best friend from high school and some super genius helped build the Allura Altea robot after Keith had asked him to. 

 

The one thing that really bothered him the most was the fact that the Allura he knew, the Allura who rescued him, the Allura who got his bracelet back, was actually a robot. 

 

And he blushed because of her too! How could someone blush for someone who isn’t actually human? 

 

A voice interrupted his thoughts, voice stern. “So why were you spying on us?” Keith asked harshly, arms crossed over his chest. Lance couldn’t help but wonder why Keith told him what happened first before asking why he was spying on him. Maybe he was just too annoyed with him that he gave in. 

 

“Spying? I wasn’t spying!” Keith lifted an eyebrow at him and then Lance took it back. “Okay I was spying. But it was because Mrs. Galra asked me to! Well she paid me to. I didn’t know you were hiding something this huge.” 

 

“Mrs. Galra?” 

 

“Yeah! She offered me a shit ton of money to tell her about Ms. Altea’s whereabouts, her wellbeing, and stuff she did. She claimed that Ms. Altea and the rest of the Galra family were estranged. And she wanted to know how she was doing,” Lance quickly told Keith. “And I thought that was the reason so I agreed.” 

 

Keith stared at him, taking in his words. “What did you tell her?” he finally asked him. 

 

“I told her stuff I saw her do. Or things she said. And I told her about Ms. Altea being in a gurney.” 

 

“And? How’d she react?” Keith questioned him. 

 

He looked to the side, glancing at the door where the robot Allura had gone in. Looking back at Keith, he said with a despondent voice, “She give this evil grin. And then she’d be muttering things as soon as I left.” 

 

Keith looked down at the ground, glaring at it. Lance sworn that with a glare like that, Keith could probably burn a hole into the ground. He then heard Keith mutter, “She’s on to us.” 

 

_ She’s onto us? What the hell-  _

 

Sudden realization dawned on Lance. He sold Keith and Allura out. He felt a light sting of guilt then but he pushed it away.  _ Who cares if they get caught?  _ Lance thought. But he still cared a minor bit. Only because Hunk was involved. And not anything else. 

 

Keith looked back at up with him with determination in his eyes. “What if you work for us?” 

 

“Huh?” Hunk, the genius (Pidge, if he recalled correctly), and Ms. Altea chose to walk out then. “Work for you?”

 

“Yeah. I’ll outpay Mrs. Galra. You’ll work for us instead of her, giving her false information and other stuff she wants to know as long as you keep our secret safe.” 

 

_ Secret? _ Oh right. Lance was all then reminded about how freaky the whole entire situation was, about how Ms. Altea was not actually a human. Wait how did he even know if Keith was telling the truth?

 

“How do I even know you’re telling the truth? For all I know, this could be just some elaborate dream or just a prank,” Lance voiced out. 

 

Keith narrowed his eyes at him and Lance was feeling scared for a moment that he was going to kill him. Instead he grabbed him by the sleeve, pulling him towards one of the closed rooms. Keith pushed it open to reveal two concerned looking individuals, who were staring at him as Keith opened the door, and a doctor (who reminded him faintly of Hunk’s girlfriend) who was looking down, as she was checking over a comatose woman whose hair was just as long and curly as Ms. Altea’s. The woman was hooked up to some device, where lines jagged up and down indicating her heartbeat and she was in a bed that looked reminiscent to the ones that could be found in hospital beds.

 

“Does this look like a joke to you?” Keith growled out to him. 

 

Nope it really didn’t. 

Keith was actually right about the whole thing, from Ms. Altea being hit to putting a robot to stand in her place. 

 

Which meant……..

 

Lance looked over his shoulder to see Ms. Altea staring at him, a blank expression over her face. Now that he noticed, out of the three of them standing over there, she was the only who wasn’t looking concerned or even fearful. 

 

He knew immediately right then and there that what Keith was true. 

 

She was a robot. 

 

And that scared him like hell. 

 

“I need to take a walk,” Lance announced, breaking away from Keith’s grasp and heading out the door. He didn’t care that he didn’t know his way around the area, didn’t care that he could suddenly get abducted (again), and didn’t care if Keith or Hunk or any of the others protested him leaving. 

 

Lance just needed to get out of there so he wasn’t in the same building as that…. _ that thing.  _ Or anyone involved with this big secret.

 

Opening the door and slamming it shut behind him, he was once again greeted with the unfamiliar sight of his surroundings. Lance made a turn to the right, noting how small and empty the whole place was; it seemed like this place was deserted but it was still pretty. Greenery sprouted against the walls, a few flowers popping up on the growing plants. 

 

Finally he made his way towards a big street and there were people all around. People….well he didn’t exactly know if they were people. For all he knew they could be robots in disguise and this whole entire experience was just some horrid nightmare he was in. 

 

The walking signal turned on, allowing people to cross the street and Lance ran for it, trying to make as much distance between him and the house he was just in. The thought of Ms. Altea being a robot still burned in his mind. 

 

It just repeated itself over and over again, like something that didn’t want to go away. 

 

Why did he even care so much about her being a robot? It wasn’t like he had  _ feelings _ for her - no it. Maybe he cared so much because now he thought that everyone in this world was a robot and he was the only living human still out there. (Maybe that’s why Keith acted so stoic, he couldn’t help but think. It’s because he’s a robot too!) 

 

Shaking his head, he started crossing the street and then noticed that the crosswalk only had a few seconds left before it said to stop walking. But then just as he reached the middle, he had only 5 seconds before it changed. Lance groaned and started to make a run for it, keeping an eye on the sign. 

 

Then it changed. 

 

The seconds started going up, slowly going from five to then ten. Then ten to twenty. 

 

His brows went up in alarm. 

 

_ What the heck was going on? _

 

Then he looked in front of him to see that it was none other than Ms. Altea walking up to him, looking calm and collected. And she was smiling.  _ No wait _ , he corrected himself.  _ It’s that robot.  _

 

“Did you do that?” he demanded when she stood in front of him, other people passing by. To the world, he thought idly, it just seemed like two people meeting in the middle of street. But it wasn’t even that. It was a human and a robot who looked exactly like a human. “Did you increase the time on the crosswalk? And how did you find me?” 

 

The robot nodded her head. “I can hack into any technology. Pidge and Uncle Hunk programmed that into me. And I tracked you through your phone.” 

 

Okay. So Hunk and Pidge were in charge of putting all of that into her. Not creepy at all to know a human look-alike could do that. And it was mildly alarming that she tracked him. 

 

“But I’m not here to talk about what I can do,” the robot Ms. Altea said to him. “Please don’t run away. I came because Keith and the others need you.” 

 

“Keith and the others need me? What for?” Lance asked. He couldn’t think of one single reason for why they needed his help. All he could think was that he was a player in the Galra Family feud, a chess piece that was easily disposable at any moment. That’s what he felt like at the moment. 

 

And he hated it. 

 

Lance liked being the one in charge, the one who got a say in things. But this whole situation just had him silent with no say. 

 

“I need you to help me be human,” she said. “I don’t know how to be human and Keith and Pidge and Uncle Hunk aren’t showing me. If you decide to stay with us, you can be able to teach me to be human.” 

 

Teach her to be what? 

 

What did Lance know about being human? Oh yeah, he knew that being human was being sad about things. (He was still secretly sad about the whole Garrison thing but he would never admit it aloud). He knew that being human that meant you didn’t get what you wanted.

 

“What?” he ended up saying, still not believing what the robot just asking. 

 

“Teach me to be human. Please,” she added on in the end. “Like Keith said, he’ll pay you double for your help.” 

 

Money didn’t matter to him anymore. He just wanted to get away from this robot. 

 

Lance tried to walk past her, trying to ignore what she just said to him. But she moved to step out in front of him, stopping him from leaving. He stared at her, before moving to the other side so he could walk past her but Ms. Altea stepped once more in front of him. 

 

He gave a huff. “Fine, I’ll promise to keep it a secret that you’re a robot in disguise.” Lance tried to move past her for the third time but she stopped him from leaving. 

 

“Why are you doing this?” he yelled at her over the cars honking. 

 

“You can’t leave. I need your help.” 

 

Giving a groan, he snapped, “Can you stop acting like a human?” Lance moved past her, leaving her standing there in the middle of the street. Slowly the clock for walking across the street ticked down, going down to one and then eventually zero. 

 

Lance had already made it across the street, hands in his pockets and grumbling about how she was bothering him with trying to help her. How could he even teach her to become human? It would be so hard. Heck, sometimes he even questioned what it meant to be human sometimes since the world sucked so much. 

 

Glancing back, he saw that Ms. Altea was still standing in the middle of the street, looking unfazed as the cars passed by her. 

 

His eyes widened as he took in the sight of him.  _ Oh god _ . Lance started pressing the button to cross the street frantically, looking up to see if Ms. Altea had moved. (She hadn’t, standing as still as a tree.) Then the sign changed to walk and Lance rushed over to her, running in front of her. 

 

“Aren’t you scared? What if you had died?” he yelled at her again, worry lacing into his voice. 

“I’m not scared. I can’t die.” Ms. Altea said to him plainly, like it was a fact. Heck, it probably was a fact. 

 

“What if you get into another accident?” Lance asked her. “What if people see that you’re not human? What are you going to do then?” 

 

“That’s why I need your help,” she responded. “I saw your face when you found out I wasn’t human. You looked disgusted and shocked. I’m sorry.” 

 

Her apology made him frown, making his insides feel ashamed. Even if she wasn’t a human, it still made him feel guilty that she could understand the look on his face. 

 

She continued on. “I don’t want other people to react that way, the way you did. That’s why I need your help. You’ll help me with that, making people less scared of me. Tell me how I need to act around people so they’re not scared of me. Please.” 

 

Ms. Altea’s words made him pause. It seemed like she desperately wanted to become a better individual, well a better human look alike. He started to play with the strings of his bracelet, hiding beneath the sleeves of his suit. Lance remembered how she saved his life in the fire, not once hesitating about getting him out. 

 

It was really brave of her to do that, even if she was a robot. 

 

And he figured then and there that he owed her his life. Even if she was a robot. 

 

“Fine,” Lance said, taking away his attention from his bracelet. “I’ll help you since you did save my life.” 

 

Ms. Altea brightened then, a smile gracing her features. It made his heart beat a little faster and Lance continued on, trying to ignore it. “I’m out though if anything gets complicated. One complicated thing, then I’m leaving. And don’t expect me right away to be all comfortable with you because I’m still a little shook that you’re actually a….” he gestured to her, not wanting to say what she was aloud. 

 

She nodded her head in agreement and then said, “Let’s go back. Keith and the others will be wondering where you are.”

 

“Nope,” Lance said shaking his head. “Where you are. You’re the more important one here.” 

 

She raised her eyebrow at him. “Why would I be more important? I’m just a-” 

 

“Nope!” he put his hand over her mouth, effectively silencing her. “Not going to say it. Definitely not doing that here.” 

Lance took his head off of her mouth and she shot him an inquisitive look. “Why did you do that?” 

 

He gave her an exasperated glance. “Do you really want to expose your secret out here in the open? Ms. Altea, you really gotta think things through before you say things aloud. You don’t know who’s listening.” 

 

Ms. Altea gave him a nod before staring intently at the crosswalk sign, the numbers then going back up to twenty seconds. She started walking back with Lance following right behind her. 

 

He may not have been comfortable with the fact that Ms. Altea was a robot but he knew that he had to repay her for saving his life. And getting back his bracelet. 

 

* * *

 

Lotor sat at his desk, an anger washing over him in waves. 

It had been hours since the testing of the G car, day turning to night at this point. 

And Allura and her bodyguard had disappeared immediately after the G car had gone haywire. 

That part of his plan worked though, messing up the G car’s autocontrol and scaring that man into oblivion. He remembered watching Acxa, face neutral but full of concentration. She did exactly what he wanted her to do; he wanted her to swerve the car and she did that.

It was pleasing to see that Allura’s project had failed. 

But he wanted to see the look of disappointment on Allura’s face. 

There were camera feeds that were following the G car, showing the progress of how it was doing on her own. Once the G car was out of control, it showed five minutes of it going haywire before turning off. Lotor could see that the car Allura was in was following not too far behind but since the camera feeds cut off after 5 minutes, he didn’t see what happened to Allura. 

He figured that she had turned around, met up with the team to either discuss what went wrong (or even cancelled the project), and then decided what she should tell the stockholders and Father. But he was wrong. From what it seemed like, the development team hadn’t seen Allura since she had gotten in the car with her bodyguard and apparently the last time she was in her office was yesterday. 

Keith had also disappeared, making it harder to figure out where his  _ dear _ sister had run off too. Lotor had last seen him during the test drive, sitting in the audience next to one of the reporters. However, the man slipped out once he saw the car go haywire. 

It was all so suspicious. 

A knock on the door pulled him out of his anger and loathing towards Allura, Keith, and how his plan didn’t go as planned. He smoothed his hair back, a stray strand stubbornly refusing to be put back into place as he tried to look calm and professional. 

“Come in.” The person on the other side was none other than his mother, a black veil covering her face making her unreadable. However if he squinted closely, he could see there was possibly a hint of a smile underneath it. 

“What is it?” he asked her, voice annoyed. He didn’t want to deal with her, his anger resurfacing. 

“I learned something over the past few days,” his mother said to him, voice hoarse. Lotor wondered what made her like this; the mother he remembered had a smooth, gentle voice. He never knew why she started covering her face or why her voice had changed. Honerva deciding to cover up everything was a mystery to him. (He had, however, seen the way her face was, her eyes an unnatural color and skin wrinkly like an old woman’s. It was horrifying to learn what had become to his mother.) 

“And what is that?” 

“Allura is up to something. Her bodyguard Lance followed Kogane to the hospital and saw a look alike of her in a gurney.” 

Hearing that made his eyebrows raise in suspicion. A look alike? The idea of Allura having a look alike was preposterous. 

“Lance thought it was her twin sister,” Honerva continued, pacing around his office space. “But you and I both know that the girl doesn’t have a twin or a sibling.” 

“So what is she up to?” 

“That is what I’m trying to find out but the boy quit on me, saying he didn’t want to spy on her for us anymore. There was guilt in his eyes.” She placed her hands on the chair that was sitting in front of his desk. “But I have a plan.” 

A plan. 

Yes, that sounded good. Not to mention interesting. 

Giving a grin, he set his fingers up, tucked underneath his chin and leaned on them. 

“Do go on mother.” 

* * *

Voltron Allura stared at Lance as he stood far away from her in Allura’s office. 

True to his word, he wasn’t exactly comfortable with her yet. Over the past few days, Lance would avoid her sometimes when they were at home, the sight of her making him run back up the stairs and into the confines of his own room. At work, he would extra far from her, barely making eye contact with her unless she “needed” something from him (she really didn’t need anything but to keep up the illusion she was the “real” Allura, she needed to boss him around to do stuff for her. Or that was what Keith said) And whenever she did need something from him, she barely got a word from him. The only thing she got was a simple nod. 

She didn’t know why it was bothering her this much that he was keeping his distance. Technically, robots couldn’t be bothered so this must have been a glitch in her system Voltron Allura supposed. And she knew why Lance was keeping his distance. 

He was still afraid of her. 

Maybe that was why it was bothering her. Her sole job was to make humans feel safe and to help them when they were injured or on the verge of being injured. Lance being scared of her was the opposite of her job. 

So what could she do to make Lance more comfortable with her? 

She posed the question to Keith that night when they were home, the question mulling about in her system since she observed Lance in her office (well she not just in her office - everywhere and every minute since he jumped into the pool for her. Lance was an interesting person to watch.) 

“You have to let him come to you Voltron Allura,” he told her, shuffling through papers on the couch in his room. 

“Why is that?” she asked him, not understanding what Keith meant. 

“The more you go to him, the more you’re just going to scare him. You have to give them space and let him accept that you’re a robot. He’ll come to you when he’s ready.” 

“What if he never is?” Voltron Allura wondered aloud. It was a possibility; fifty-percent of him could probably never get used to the idea that she was a robot. 

Keith looked up at her then, something in his eyes that she couldn’t label. “Don’t worry. He will.” 

She just took his answer, walking out of Keith’s room and back to her own, taking the long route to think about the whole situation. If Lance never accepted her as a robot, Honerva and Lotor would soon suspect that something was wrong. And Voltron Allura couldn’t let that happen. She had to protect Allura, who was helplessly lying in bed at Krolia’s home. 

But Keith said to let Lance come to her, to let him come around in his own time. And she had to do what Keith asked of her (it was what Pidge wanted). 

Walking back to her room, she closed the doors behind her silently. The four cats that belonged to Allura were lounging about, two lying on top of each other while the other two made themselves comfortable on the bed. The cats seemed to know she wasn’t human, meowing loudly when she got close to them. It didn’t bother her that they didn’t like her; she knew if she was human, she would feel hurt by them not liking her. Cats were precious little fur balls according to the Internet. 

She walked past the cats, moving towards another corner in the room and approached a tiny vacuum cleaner. Getting down to her knees, she said to it with a smile, “Hello friend.” 

The vacuum cleaner sent a response to her, saying a little hello to her as it whirred itself on. It became her first real friend when she moved into the house. They both could talk to each other because they were both robots and sometimes Voltron Allura felt it was much easier to talk to it rather than the humans. 

Humans were well, complicated from what she had seen. 

They had so many emotions, emotions she couldn’t understand or feel. They felt things like happiness and sadness, their faces scrunched up with joy and elation or tears spilling out of their eyes. She noticed that humans tended to act out on what they felt instead of thinking with their brains, often doing rash things that led to dire consequences. However, not all humans did that she noticed. Sometimes humans didn’t act on what they felt, choosing to keep their emotions internal and focus on whatever they thought was logical. She saw that a lot in Keith and Pidge actually. Not only were their emotions complicated, Voltron Allura saw that humans would say or do things they didn’t mean, which included lying. It didn’t make any sense to her as to why humans would do those things. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just tell the truth instead of having to go through the trouble of doing something else? 

And she realized, just like Pidge put into her programming, that not all humans were as nice as Pidge, Keith, or Uncle Hunk. There were cruel-hearted humans who wanted to hurt others for their own good. 

Like Lotor and Honerva. 

She hadn’t really gotten anything from Zarkon except from limited interactions so she couldn’t exactly say if he was cruel hearted like his son and wife. From what she had seen and heard, Lotor and Honerva were scheming, both quiet but logical in their strategies. Keith had always said that Honerva was the one who supported Lotor’s plans as she had the power and the resources to set them out. She was unpredictable, more so than her son and very rarely spoke a word. He had said that it was very weird (not to mention lucky) that Lance of all people had gotten the chance to talk to her. (Even Keith himself hadn’t spoken a word to her.) 

Lotor was a mystery. There were times where he seemed sympathetic to the people working around him; other times he seemed like he was cruel, not giving a care as to how the people he was hurting felt. And it was a mystery to why he treated Allura the way he did. There was something in his gaze that screamed something to Keith but he didn’t know what it was (Voltron Allura couldn’t tell if she tried - she just wasn’t human to understand it). Keith had said it was also his way of voice around Allura; it sounded like disgust sometimes or it had sounded like adoration. Even though Lotor was a mystery to the two of them, Keith had suspected that Lotor was the one who had tried to murder Allura in the Czech Republic as Lotor seemed to be the one who was really against Allura running for the CEO position of the company. Not only did Keith believe that, he was pretty sure that Lotor would take out people he didn’t like. 

Even though there were humans like this, there were humans that were kind. Humans like Uncle Hunk. They cared about other human beings, fretting about their feelings and how they were doing. Humans who were like that reminded her of her own purpose as a robot. 

Out of all the humans she knew, Voltron Allura was able to classify them into different types of humans based on the types of emotions and actions that they had shown. Pidge was labeled underneath ‘logical’, Keith was ‘emotions influenced actions’, Uncle Hunk was ‘kind’, and Honerva and Lotor were ‘cruel’. 

Lance was the only human she didn’t put underneath any category. 

She didn’t know much about him even though she observed him for months now. Lance was….a mystery. Not like Lotor though. It was like every category she had for each type of human didn’t fit him. 

Voltron Allura knew how Lance acted. He was a flirt, if her search was right, constantly trying to impress the women around him. Or he used to be. Now, he was quiet, sort of cautious of what he said around women, especially her. She also noticed that he was incredibly goofy, trying to lighten situations at some points when she was working or when the development team seemed stressed out. (‘Hey guys!’ she remembered him saying once, capturing the attention of everyone in the room. ‘How many lips does a flower have? Tu-lips!’ Everyone in the room started snickering and Lance gave a grin then, continuing on with his jokes.) And he seemed like he cared….like at the situation where she was in the pool (she sometimes replayed the feed she had from that night, looking to see if his face actually showed the concern Keith was talking about). 

Somehow, even though she knew those things about Lance, it still didn’t qualify him in any of the categories she constructed. 

And she wanted to know more about him so she could classify him into a category. She wanted to see what made him tick or what he liked. (She knew what Pidge and Uncle Hunk liked. For Pidge, it was technology of any sorts and for Uncle Hunk, it was food.)

Lance was interesting and learning more about him could help make her understand humans better. 

“Hey Ms. Altea?” a voice sounded out from the other side of the door asked. “Can I come in?” 

It was Lance’s voice, Voltron Allura recognized and she stood up immediately, walking over to the door and opening it. 

Lance stood in front of her, hands in his pockets and shuffling on his feet. He looked - what was the word - awkward. 

“Hi,” he uttered out finally once he looked her in the eye. 

“Hi.” 

“So….” he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. “Can I come in?” 

Voltron Allura moved to the side, allowing for him to come in. He slipped past her, heading towards the bookcase in the room. “What are you doing?” 

“I forgot about the camera, well microphone, I left in here,” Lance responded, plucking the camera from the red lion’s plush ear. “Here.”

He held out the microphone to her, the tiny object sitting in the palm of his hand. Voltron Allura took the device from him and slipped it into the pocket of her pants. Lance put his hands back into his pocket, looking awkward once more before speaking again. “I have a plush lion like that back home,” he nodded his head to the red lion plush. “Except it’s blue.” 

Blinking at him, Voltron Allura was a bit confused about why he was telling her this (she wasn’t in opposition to it; she was learning a little bit more about Lance after all). But instead of voicing her confusion, she just nodded her head. 

“Do you know what it was from?”

Taking a quick picture of the red plush lion with her eyes, she looked it up on the Internet and found her answer. “Beast King GoLion,” she answered. “It was a cartoon that aired from March 4th, 1981 - February 24th, 1982. There were reruns of it that aired on-” 

“Yeah I know, I know. I was a big fan of it when I was a kid. More like obsessed actually. My sister Veronica showed it to me and we used to watch it together.” Voltron Allura blinked. That’s right. Lance had a sister. She knew that about him about she never knew her name; Keith didn’t bother to look into Lance’s files, claiming he already knew everything about the man when they both found out Lance was spying on them. 

“My favorite was the blue lion. But I can see that Allura liked red?” he said, shifting uncomfortably as he stared at the plush red lion. 

Voltron Allura didn’t know how to respond to that and simply nodded her head. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked him, still not understanding why Lance was telling her about his past. 

“It’s my way of saying I’m sorry,” he rubbed his neck. “Look, I’m sorry about the past few days, me avoiding you and stuff. It’s just hard to take in you’re a robot when you look exactly like-” Lance gestured to her and she raised her eyebrow, not understanding what Lance meant. She realized now that Lance did and said a lot of things that didn’t make sense. But by talking about Beast King GoLion, she understood that this was his way of coming to her. To coming around to the idea that she was a robot. 

“Like what?” 

“A human,” Lance answered. “How are you even- You look very much like a human. Can you even eat? And how do you even charge up or something?” 

Eat? Well that was a question that was new. Then again, not very many people knew she was a robot. So pretty much any question was a new question. 

“Yes I can, although I don’t need to. And this is what powers me.” Voltron Allura held up the watch on her wrist. “It’s a battery that shows me how much power it has left in it. Keith usually has to replace it for me as I cannot take it out myself without shutting down.” 

Lance nodded his head. “Wait so you can’t feel anything? Like that’s why you weren’t in pain when that beam hit you in the fire or the fact that you were drowning?” 

“Mhmm. I can’t feel anything.” Lance stared at her, eyebrow raised. He raised his finger, lifting it up to her face, and poking her on the cheek. She frowned, not understanding why he was poking her. 

“So you can’t feel this?” Lance asked her, finger still on her cheek. 

“Nope. I know that you’re pressing a finger into my cheek though.” 

“Oh.” Lance took his finger away from her cheek, pulling away quickly. “Wow, that’s really cool. You didn’t even flinch when I touched you. Wait now that I think about it, you didn’t blink either…” He put his finger up again and went up to touch her eye. Voltron Allura thought that if someone tried to touch her eyeball and she was a human, she was very sure she’d back away or flinch when they made contact with the eye. It was an organ after all and it was soft. Since she was a robot, her eyes were a screen and not soft like an eyeball would be. 

“Wow…..” he said anything, still touching her eye. “It’s all hard…..” 

“My eyes are a screen. I can look up anything at any given time and I have x-ray vision.” Lance pulled his finger away quickly once more at her words. 

His face looked panicky. “What?” 

“I can look up anything at any given time and I have x-ray vision,” Voltron Allura repeated. 

“I heard that. X-ray vision?” he squeaked out, a little embarrassed. 

“Yes.” She concentrated her gaze on his body, mimicking what she saw on the television. (Apparently humans with x-ray vision did this, focusing very deeply on whatever their subject was.) Lance yelped out, scrambling to cover his body up from her penetrating gaze. The sight made her smile. “Just kidding. I saw it on the television.” 

He gave out a sigh of relief then, taking his hands away from his body. “What else can you do?” 

Voltron Allura looked down at her hand. “I have a lie detector in my hand.” 

“A lie detector?” 

Nodding her head, she responded, “Yes. When I touch a human, I am able to detect if they are lying or not. And I wink when I detect a lie.” 

“Oh,” Lance said. He grabbed her hand, taking it into his own. “You ask me a question and then see if I’m lying or not.” 

She paused, thinking of what to ask Lance. An idea popped up in her head and she voiced it out, “Do you think I’m pretty?” 

“What?” Lance squeaked out. “No!” 

_ Wink _ , her left eye went. “You’re lying,” she stated, giving a little smile. 

“No I’m not!” he pulled his hand out of her hand, face turning a slight pink. Voltron Allura didn’t need her lie detector to know that Lance was lying once more. The expression on his face seemed to say enough and it made her smile. It was quite interesting to see his expressions and how he reacted to things. 

But it still didn’t give her an overall idea of what category to put him in. 

“So….” Lance said, trailing off. A meow interrupted what he was going to say and the both of them looked down to see one of the cats, brushing at Lance’s leg and trying to get his attention. 

“Meow!” the cat said even louder this time and Lance picked him up carefully. The cat immediately nestled into Lance’s arms and Lance gave a little smile then. He carefully pet the cat, smoothing his hand over its fur. Voltron Allura could see tiny little strands of hair being pushed out due to Lance’s petting. She could also detect how calming the cat was on Lance as she was able to detect Lance’s vital signs by just looking at him. 

“How about you tell me about Allura’s cats?” he brought up, looking at her while petting the cat. 

He was smiling again, Voltron Allura noticed. It was a nice smile, she concluded. It was one of those smiles that lit up the room (she heard that in a TV show). 

“Of course. The one you’re holding is Chulatt, according to Keith. He’s the smallest and Keith has said that he likes cuddling…” 

* * *

A day later

“Hey,” she answered, still typing away on her computer and not really paying attention to who was on the other side of the line. Pidge was investing herself into her work, trying to avoid anything she was feeling at the moment. It seemed to be working; she wasn’t thinking about that emo guy and how hurt she felt when he rejected to talk to her about what was going on with him.

Dang it. She thought about him.

And now the pain was back, gnawing at her skin and threatening to tear her open.

If she had to be honest, she didn’t understand why it was hurting her so much. They weren’t friends. She barely knew the guy too. But it all came down to the fact that she wanted to know more about him and she was very disappointed by the fact that he didn’t share anything with her. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to share anything; Pidge rarely shared how she felt with people, the only exception to that was Hunk, who was her most trusted friend since college. (Even though Hunk was her closest friend, she still rarely shared with him but every once in awhile she would).

If Hunk knew what she was feeling, oh quiznack, she wouldn’t hear the end of it. Pidge knew that Hunk would give her advice on what to do (‘Pidge! You should ask him out! You know discreetly make it a date,’ he would tell her. It happened once in college when she liked a guy three years ahead of her and she remembered how much of a failure that was.) and what to say, just like the stereotypical supportive best friend. Hunk was a romantic, doing big grand romantic gestures that would make Shay fall in love with him even more. And pretty much everything he would suggest to her would be big, bold, or grand. Pidge didn’t roll that way. She was more of a person who was quiet and didn’t do the big stuff, more of the type to run away from the big stuff.

Plus who said she even liked Keith that way?

(Definitely not her.)

She just tried to be a good friend to someone who she thought needed it. And normally she wouldn’t do that.

Yeah, that was the case. It didn’t involve feelings whatsoever.

“Hey Pidge.”

“Hmm?” Pidge asked typing away and still not paying attention. She was too focused on trying to find out what happened the day of the test drive. Keith, before leaving with Voltron Allura and Lance Serrano, had tasked her to find out who was behind the hack of the test drive. Voltron Allura had revealed to them that when she was in the car, she was able to detect that someone had hacked into the G car’s system, overriding the directions that the control team was sending it. Keith had found it really suspicious; who would want to sabotage the test drive of the G car and for what reason? From staring at him, Pidge could tell he had an idea of who it was but he chose not to say anything.

Pidge started once she got home, the silence of her loft became a little unsettling as Hunk chose to stay at Krolia’s to be alongside Shay. She knew why Hunk decided to do that but it still felt a little lonely as she had no one to talk to or joke around with to relieve the tension within her. (Technically she had Shiro 3 but any jokes would fly over his head.) Even though days had passed at this point, she hadn’t seen Hunk as he was choosing to spend time with Shay. Pidge honestly didn’t blame him. This job of discovering what Galra Tech was really demanding, spending days on the computer just trying to find information, hacks, and leads. Sometimes Pidge even wondered how she managed to get sleep over the past few months. (She had Hunk to cajole her into sleeping, she remembered.)

Even though the silence unsettled her, she got to work right away, spending countless hours on the computer to look for any video feeds of around the area. Today, she had finally had gotten ahold of the video feeds from that specific day (there were countless of video feeds at Galra Tech). Pidge had to get it down to a certain hour but she was very close.

“Pidge?” the person repeated. “Are you even listening?”

“I swear Mother I am eating. And peeing. And doing everything that keeps my personal hygiene clean,” she immediately answered.

“What?” the voice asked a little confused. “I’m not your mother Pidge. It’s Keith. Keith Kogane.”

Pidge’s eyes widened and she sat straight up, moving her hands away from the computer. Inside her mind, she was panicking. Oh quiznack, why did she think Keith was her mother?

“Keith!” she squeaked out, her voice reaching a higher pitch than usual. “I was just uh….talking to my mother, yeah that’s it! My mother was asking if I was sleeping and doing other stuff.”

“Like brushing your teeth?” Keith asked her over the phone. His voice sounded awkward and Pidge couldn’t help but think it was slightly adorable but at the same time she reprimanded herself for causing the whole situation to be this way.

“Yeah….” Pidge was mentally dying at how badly this conversation was going. “Sometimes I uh, get caught up in the work I’m doing, which is why my mom checks up on me.”

“So it’s that bad huh? You’re a workaholic?”

“Sort of. Just want to get the job done,” she answered, bringing a hand to forehead.

Keith didn’t say anything right away so she assumed that it was getting too awkward for him as well. Maybe he was thinking of what to say next or how to tell her that she needed to get the photo - no wait, video - evidence to him right away. Maybe he was going to tell her that he didn’t need her or Hunk’s help anymore. Maybe-

No, she was overthinking. Stop overthinking Pidge, she chastised herself.

He ended up saying something completely different than what she expected. “I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” She blinked. Wait, did she hear what she just heard?

“I’m sorry,” Keith repeated again. “It’s my fault that you’re staying up late and not doing all your personal hygiene stuff.”

Keith was apologizing? Pidge raised her eyebrows at this. It wasn’t like she didn’t like him apologizing (to be honest, she did. Keith’s voice got all soft and quiet to the point where it was kind of adorable), it just seemed a little strange for Keith to be apologetic. Keith struck her as the person who would jump head forward into things, be rash, and not really apologize for his actions. But she would take it, because she was honestly very tired at this point (coffee and Red Bull was not working wonders on her system). Even if she didn’t take it, she didn’t think she could argue with Keith over the smallest little matter.

“It’s alright. I mean it’s not a big deal,” she said softly, fiddling with the strands of her hair. Immediately, she put it down, realizing what she was doing.

Pidge was not one of those lovestruck teenagers. She refused to be one. (She was already twenty-one for quiznacking sakes.)

“It is. You and Hunk are sacrificing a lot for me and Allura and the rest of our family. Like your guys’ sleep.”

“Seriously, it’s no big deal,” she repeated once more. On the other side of the line, she could hear Keith intake a breath, ready to speak again but she cut him off. “And seriously, don’t try to argue with me about this. I don’t really want to keep talking about the same thing over and over again for the next few minutes because I know you will try to keep apologizing.”

She really didn’t. She was just blabbering on just to end their weird apology/it’s fine conversation.

“Fine.”

“So what did you want to know? Or what did you want me to do?” Pidge went back to the computer, scrolling through the videos showing up on the screen. “Because I know that’s probably why the reason you called right?”

“Um, yeah.”

Huh. His voice sounded awkward then but why, Pidge didn’t know. She wasn’t good at reading people or their voices. In general, she was just terrible with people. How she even became friends with Hunk baffled her.

“Keith? What was it?”

“What was what?”

“The thing you wanted to know about.”

“Oh yeah that. I wanted to know if you found anything following the test drive.”

“I’m still looking. I’m really close to finding feeds from around the time that the test drive happened.”

“Okay.”

There was a pause between them, awkwardness filling in the gap once more. Pidge was used to it being awkward between her and other people besides Hunk. But it didn’t mean that she liked it.

“Was there anything else that you wanted me and Hunk to do? Hunk’s still looking for evidence of the Alteas’ murders and he’s looking into Sendak just like you asked. Even though he’s spending a lot of time with Shay.”

Before Keith had left Krolia’s house, he had handed over a paper to the bigger man and explained to Hunk that he found it odd that Sendak had no records of what he was doing at Galra Tech hours before the Alteas’ murders. Hunk promised he would look into it when he could and Pidge piped up she would look as well once she was done with the video feeds.

“I was wondering…...I was wondering if I could take you up on your willing to listen thing.”

Her eyes widened at this. What made him change his mind? It had been a couple of days since she had posed that idea to him (and days of moping ever since). Pidge almost had thought that he had forgotten about her ever asking.

“Yeah,” she sputtered out, still a little surprised that he asked. “Just why now of all days?”

“My mother suggested opening up to someone, noticing that all the stress from everything was bothering me. And….I’m really sorry for acting…..rude and cold to you when we have met up or during the times we met up. It was completely out of line.”

Pidge frowned. He was apologizing again. And also he was completely on point about being rude. “Why don’t you just tell me why you were acting like that?” she asked him gently.

A pause came from Keith’s side and Pidge could almost hear his soft breaths. Pidge could tell he was hesitant about telling her what was concerning him. “I’m afraid,” he muttered out. She didn’t say anything, hoping that her silence would prompt him to speak some more. “I’m afraid that whoever it is that tried to murder Allura will come after her again and I won’t be there to protect her from it like last time. I…..I just can’t lose someone close to me again.”

“Who’d you lose?”

Pidge hadn’t meant to speak. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her (unfortunately). Asking that question was crossing like a million boundaries, ones that Keith might not have been comfortable answering.

“I’ve lost a lot of people important to me,” he answered quietly, his voice low. There was a distinct sadness to his voice. “My dad, the Alteas, my boyfriend.”

Pidge’s eyes widened. His boyfriend? Wait did that mean he was gay? Instead of saying whatever her brain thought, she asked, “What happened?”

“My dad died in a fire when I was twelve. My mom was out of town at the time and my dad and I….we were really close. Same with the Alteas. They were like a second family to me, taking care of me when. And my boyfriend….” he trailed off, giving a sigh before continuing. “My ex-boyfriend I mean. He lied to me. About a lot of things really. Shiro said that he had gotten the all clear, saying nothing was wrong with him when clearly his body was shutting off on him. Then he lied about the upcoming mission, saying nothing was going to harm him when clearly he would get hurt.” There was a bit of edge to Keith’s voice once he stopped talking.

Shiro and him dated? Wait that meant…...Keith was his boyfriend that she sort of found attractive when she had seen a picture of Shiro and a mysterious person. In the picture she remembered by heart however, it wasn’t the Keith she knew. Keith had longer hair back then, pretty much a mullet, with his black hair shiny and straight as it passed his shoulders. And he looked happy. A big difference to how he was now.

Both her and Matt already knew Shiro was gay, seeing him date a few men casually in the past. But the guy that he was with back then was the most current and probably the longest relationship they had seen Shiro in. Shiro and him had moved in together, taking Shiro out of the Holt residence (both of her parents cried that day when they learned that Shiro planned to move out). They knew of his condition, knew the risks that he was taking in order to achieve his dream of becoming a pilot at the Garrison, and knew that any day he could get hurt very seriously. But they still supported him with his dream because they knew how important it was to him. A few weeks before the Kerberos mission Matt and her dad went on, Pidge had learned that Shiro and the mysterious man (Keith, she had to remind herself) had broken up but never knew why. She just remembered seeing Matt comforting Shiro as he silently cried.

“We broke up because I couldn’t stand the fact that he lied so much to me. And then he died only a few weeks later.” Pidge’s eyebrows went up at this. Keith didn’t know Shiro was alive? How come Matt didn’t tell him? Maybe he didn’t have the time to tell Keith that, her brain rationalized. She figured that she didn’t want to be the one to tell him that Shiro was alive, definitely not now as he was opening up and letting his thoughts go. Maybe she would tell him later or let Matt tell him whenever this whole fiasco ended.

“Oh,” she responded.

Pidge didn’t know how else to respond. What could she say to make Keith feel better about himself? She wasn’t good at this!

“So you think everyone close to you now is going to leave you?”

“Yes. My mother and Allura are all I have left. And if I ever lose any one of them, I swear I will burn fury to whatever forces that are out there.” His voice was hard now, anger really lacing through his voice.

“Keith,” she started, even though she wasn’t sure of what she was going to say next. “They’re not going to leave you. I don’t think they would ever want to.”

“How are you so sure of that?” his voice sounded pained now and it hurt Pidge through the heart to hear him like that. “They can’t make a promise to stay with me forever.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works Keith. We can always promise to be by someone’s side for a long time but there’s no guarantee with us sticking around. We go on our own paths, our own destinies. Sometimes our paths are meant to stick together, sometimes they don’t. But all we can do is really enjoy the time we have with the people we cherish the most. And even if they’re gone, well…….” Pidge glanced to the picture that she had of her family sitting up on her desk. In it, Shiro was glancing at her and Matt fondly while Matt had a (very) tight arm around her neck while her parents were looking down at the three of them with a loving expression in their eyes. “They’re never really gone. They’re within us, their love still living on within us, in our hearts. Just as long as you don’t forget them, they’re still with you.”

Keith was silent. Pidge honestly didn’t know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. She hoped it was a good thing. “Still with me?” he then asked her, his voice laced with pain. “Then why does it hurt when I think of them?”

“I guess that’s the hard part. Even though they’re with you, in your heart, you’re still in pain because you miss them. You miss what they added to your life, like the hugs or the encouragement they gave you. You miss all the smiles they gave you.” Pidge thought of her brother then, thinking of the smiles he would give her when she told him of her accomplishments and the hugs she received afterwards. (‘That’s my younger sister,” he would exclaim proudly while he ruffled her hair fondly. Oh how she longed for moments like that right now.)

“But we’re human. Even if you do feel pain, it means you loved them. And that’s a good thing,” she continued on. “Better to have loved than not at all.”

“I-” Keith started, before speaking up again with a hesitant voice. It didn’t sound forced, more like vulnerable. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks Pidge for that.”

“No problem.”

“You’re actually good with words.”

“Nah,” she said, shaking her head even though she knew very well that Keith couldn’t see what she was doing with her head. “It’s all Hunk really. He gets really sappy and romantic all the time and I guess it’s run over to me.”

“It suits you.”

“Hm?”

“The whole thing with words. It suits you.”

“Oh.” Keith was…..complimenting her? It wasn’t like he hadn’t complimented her before (he had, calling her the smartest person he knew on multiple occasions).   
  


This time it felt….more personal. Something more deeper than superficial level.

“Thanks I guess?”

“No thank you,” Keith told her back. “For listening.”

“You’re welcome.” The sincerity in his voice brought a faint flush to her cheeks that she could feel. Pidge’s eyes widened at this realization that her cheeks were flushing. Oh quiznack, no, no, no.

Her face turning warm didn’t mean that she liked him.

She didn’t even want to like him.

(But a part of her found him attractive.)

Trying to get the idea out of her head, she started scrolling through the computer furiously, eyes scanning over the times of the video feed. She still could hear Keith breathing over the other side of the line, probably wondering why she wasn’t saying anything (yet at the same time she was wondering too about why he wasn’t saying anything).

Then her eyes caught something.

It was a few minutes before the testing of the G car began.

She let a little sigh out, inching forwards toward her computer screen. Keith must’ve heard her outtake of breath because he then asked her, “What is it?”

Pidge didn’t respond right away, too fixated on the video. She clicked play, watching a man standing over a woman and watching her click on various keys on a small computer in front of her. It seemed like they were both on top of the roof, talking a little bit. Or maybe it was just the man talking, it was too hard to tell. They were….on top of a roof she deduced, judging by the ledge and the brightness of the sun shining down on them. Turning up the volume on the computer she was using, Pidge could hear the voices better. A male’s voice was accented, his tone crisp and business-like as he addressed the woman. The woman didn’t speak much, just giving short answers along with nods of the head.

But it was very clear to her who the male’s voice belonged to.

“Pidge,” Keith said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “What is it? What did you find?”

“I found video evidence of Lotor planning the failure of the test drive.”

 

* * *

 

A week later 

 

Lance headed down the stairs, following Ms. Altea, and was suspicion gnawing in his gut at Keith’s sudden request for them to talk. The request was sudden and it interrupted his and Ms. Altea’s Q & A session but in a way Lance was sort of grateful that Keith interrupted. (His throat was getting dry due to answering so many of Ms. Altea’s questions. He swore that robot had like a gazillion questions about humans.) But it still didn’t erase the fact that Keith wanted to talk to him. 

 

Talk meant a lot of things, like firing him. Telling him to get going. Stuff like that. 

 

Lance knew that Keith didn’t trust him. To be honest, if he was in Keith’s shoes, he wouldn’t trust himself either. Who could trust a guy who originally was selling them out? (Lance had later learned that day that Ms. Al- no wait, Voltron Allura was what Keith called her- had discovered his microphone the first day that he planted it there and from then on out, they were giving him false information to give to Honerva. So technically he didn’t really sell them out.) 

 

Following Keith hiring him (and explaining everything to him), the man barely only glared at him and nodded his head. To be honest, Voltron Allura was the one talking while Keith stood behind her protectively, as if he couldn’t trust him around her. 

 

This was probably the first time that Keith had asked something of him since he found out that Allura was actually a robot. 

 

When Lance finally reached the kitchen where Keith and Voltron Allura were waiting for him, Keith threw him a pair of keys. 

 

“What’s this for?” Lance asked, catching the keys then glancing up to look at them. He was slightly confused, however very relieved that Keith wasn’t going to get rid of him. 

 

“I’ll explain when we get in the car,” Keith told him curtly and he walked out, leaving Voltron Allura and him to follow. They promptly followed him, moving quickly. Maybe Lance realized, they both recognized the urgency in his voice, although it was disguised underneath the emoness he liked to project. There was probably a reason why Keith said the things the way he did; maybe it was his way of trying not to worry anyone. 

 

Once Lance and Voltron Allura were situated in the car, him in the driver’s seat and Voltron Allura in the backseat, Keith spoke up as Lance started up the car. 

 

“You’re going to drive us to Sal’s Vrepisushi. I already sent the address to the car’s GPS.” 

 

Lance lifted his eyebrow at this. Why did most the places that he’s been to include this Sal fellow? It was like he had a bunch of restaurants that had to include his name. (He was probably rich and had enough money to slap on his name on whatever restaurant he wanted.) 

 

“Why though? You didn’t tell us what was so urgent,” Lance told him, keeping his eyes on the road. 

 

“Zarkon, Honerva, and Lotor wanted to meet for dinner,” Keith told them, keeping his voice monotone. “And they’re bringing along my uncle.” 

 

“Who’s your uncle?” 

 

“Sendak.” 

 

Lance pushed on the brake, just in time as the light turned red. The car gave a little jolt as it stopped, moving its inhabitants out of their seats for a brief moment. “Wait, wait, wait,” Lance shook his head and he turned to face Keith in the backseat. He frowned at him. “You’re related to Sendak Galra?” 

 

He had heard stories about the man, the one who had huge sideburns running down the sides of his face and an eye patch over one eye. There were stories about how he was in a brawl, winning against his opponent but unfortunately losing an eye. Lance had to admit he looked very menacing, a scowl covering his face in every picture he had seen him in. 

 

Now that he thought about it, Keith seemed to scowl a lot too. 

 

Maybe he got it from that side of the family. 

 

“He is,” Voltron Allura piped up. She was giving him a soft smile as she answered him; seeing her smile made his face feel all tingly. He tried to erase that thought away by trying to focus on what she was saying. “Keith is related to the Galra family through his mother’s side, technically making the human Allura his adopted cousin. His father-” 

 

“Is something we will not be talking about,” Keith cut off, his expression hardening. It seemed like he was clearly annoyed that Voltron Allura mentioned his family. “And turn around, the light turned green.” 

 

He quickly turned around, seeing that the light was indeed green and now people were honking behind him because he wasn’t moving the car. “Sorry, sorry!” he yelled out, once he opened his window as the car moved. In the rearview mirror, he could see that Keith was looking very done with him while Voltron Allura was looking very innocently at him. Lance truthfully didn’t know how to feel about the latter. 

 

“But as I was saying, they wanted to meet for dinner. Voltron Allura and I are the only ones who will be going, but I suspect that Honerva or Lotor have something planned. Normally I don’t get asked to anything, so the fact that I got invited to a dinner is shocking. Lance, you’re not going to go in but you’re going to keep watch for anything suspicious.” 

 

Lance nodded his head. He knew from the mention of ‘dinner’, that he wasn’t invited. He didn’t know anything about the Galras (well personally besides from the fact that Lotor was a pompous jerk and his mother was creepy), wasn’t rich like the rest of them. Even if he was invited to this dinner, he wouldn’t even know what to do in the presence of them. Like how does one even act around powerful business people?

 

“Voltron Allura-” Keith started but stopped as Lance drove up to the restaurant's parking lot. 

 

Lance gapped at the restaurant. He would’ve thought anything slapped on with the name of Sal was going to not high-end, but seeing this restaurant was high-end. It was huge and had a fancy exterior, glass windows with shades to cover up the restaurant from the sun’s harsh rays. He could only wonder what the inside looked like. 

 

Stopping the car in front of the entrance, he unbuckled his seat belt and got out, rushing to Voltron Allura’s side to open the door for her. Her eyes met his as he opened the door, a light thumping arising in his chest once more. Lance noticed it more and more these days; every time he and Voltron Allura interacted, his face felt like it was on fire. It definitely wasn’t out of embarrassment because he didn’t do anything embarrassing in front of that robot. 

 

Oh yeah, did he mention again she was a robot? 

 

Even though it had been days for him at this point that he discovered she was a robot, he still wasn’t used to the fact that she was a robot. And he accepted the fact that she was a robot but it was still mind-boggling to him that she was one. Voltron Allura acted (for the most part) like a human. If Lance didn’t know any better, he would’ve believed she was human if it wasn’t for all the stuff she said about not having a heart or any emotions. 

 

But since he knew she was a robot, it was hard to adjust to the fact that she was one. She literally had a computer tucked inside her brain and had the innocence of a five year old (if he had to be honest but it was rather endearing). She had the feeling of actual skin but instead of blood running through her veins, she had multiple wires running all around. How could anyone comprehend living in the same household as a robot who looked like a person who could be your neighbor? Or your significant other? Or your sibling? 

 

Lance believed that maybe the reason why he felt like his face was on fire was because of nervousness about being with a robot most of the time. Like how do you act alongside a robot without treating it like something that could be broken? He could tell that Voltron Allura was perfectly capable of taking care of herself - she saved him from a fire for quiznacking’s sake! - and she was probably the smartest robot in the world. She was vastly intelligent, knowing when people’s heart rates were rising (touching them was a good enough indication she had told him that night when he was attempting to tell her he was alright with her being a robot), the different types of behaviors humans displayed, etc. 

 

Logic and memories would always remind him that she was a robot but every time he saw her, for a moment he would forget and then the next moment he then remembered she was a robot. 

 

He wondered if Keith ever felt that way about seeing Voltron Allura, forgetting entirely that the person standing beside him was not the person he knew but rather a robot duplicate. 

 

(Lance would have to ask him later, when he didn’t feel like Keith wanted to beat him up.) 

 

“Thank you Lance,” Voltron Allura told him, her voice very polite and calm as she stepped out gracefully, the way a royal would talk if she was addressing her subject. Lance wondered then if the human Allura was like this, sort of a royal in a modern world. In the pictures he had seen of her in the past, she sure looked like one. 

 

“You’re welcome Ms. Altea,” he answered, meeting her eyes. 

 

“Come on Allura, we gotta go in,” Keith said, putting a hand lightly on the robot’s arm. Voltron Allura looked at him blankly, and then nodded her head, not giving another glance to Lance before leaving. The two of them headed towards the restaurant, walking perfectly in sync to the entrance. Lance proceeded to close to the door, getting into the car and then driving it to a parking spot. 

 

Once killing the engine, he sat there for a good few seconds deciding what to do. 

 

Should he go into the restaurant and keep watch just like Keith asked? Or was Keith meaning to keep watch outside of the restaurant? (Well, if he meant outside, that would be lame because he wouldn’t even know if any of the people entering or leaving were conspiring against them.) 

 

Mind made up, he unlocked his seat belt and got out of the car. 

 

Anyways, if he kept watch in the restaurant, he’d hear first hand what Honerva, Lotor, and Zarkon wanted as well as keeping an eye on Voltron Allura and Keith. 

 

And that was definitely more interesting that keeping watch outside. 

 

* * *

 

Voltron Allura was holding onto Keith’s elbow as he walked them into the restaurant. He had told her before entering that it would seem more proper if she held onto his elbow. She had questioned this of course, her computers not understanding the significance of this action, but Keith was quick to reassure her it was only for appearances, not meaning anything. Internally Voltron Allura questioned it once more, not understanding what the ‘not meaning anything’ meant. But then with a search on the databanks it lead her to the conclusion that Keith just wanted to show how much power Allura had. 

 

That she was the one who was respected in comparison to the others that they were meeting tonight. 

 

(She was 98% sure that her conclusion was right; from watching Keith’s behavior, he always put Allura first and did everything in his power to help her. By showing how much power, she posing in as the real Allura had, then it would help, what Pidge said the last time, ‘let Allura live another day’.)    
  


Keith and her walked up to the host podium situated at the front of the restaurant, the hostess quickly asking what party they were apart of or if they had made reservations for that evening. Keith had coolly responded that they were dining with the Galras’ and the hostess nodded her head, leading them down a hallway towards big doors that were closed. 

 

As they followed the woman, Keith leaned in, whispering into her ear, “If they do anything, make sure to rebel. I’ll give you a signal.” 

 

She just nodded her head in response. Voltron Allura then stared at Keith’s profile, wondering how many times the human Allura had to go through this. What did she even feel like when she went through these horrible meetings and dinners Keith so vividly described to her before Lance entered the kitchen? 

 

The hostess opened the door, revealing a large circular table with members of the Galra family each at a chair and Japanese screens with cherry blossoms painted on them were located towards the back of the room. Zarkon was sitting the farthest away, in the chair facing the doors. Lotor and his mother were situated on both sides of Zarkon, with Honera at his right and his son on his left. Sendak sat next to Honerva, a smile gracing his features. She glanced over to see Keith’s reaction, only to see the muscles of his face tightening up. 

 

She had learned a few days ago (the same day as the G car test drive and before Keith had driven her and Lance back home), that Keith had a distrust of the man, even though he was his uncle. Krolia, his mother, recalled of stories from her youth about Sendak, notably stating that he had a streak of envy and jealousy and easily picked on those who he deemed were unworthy. She also had told them of how he was ruthless, getting into fights when it wasn’t necessary or when it was clear that he wanted to feel superior. 

 

“He’s always been fighting for power within our family,” Krolia had told Keith once Keith updated her about what he had found that morning. 

 

Voltron Allura stared at the man, and instantly her vision was filled with information about the man, news articles and Wikipedia bios and more, as well as a video recording of Krolia speaking about Sendak showing up. Seeing all of it gave her an idea of Sendak and she placed him underneath a new category, labeled power-hungry, within her files of what type of people were out there. 

 

“Allura,  _ Keith _ ,” Zarkon spit out Keith’s name like it’s some type of poison, a tension thick in the air. If Voltron Allura had to be honest, it was probably the first time she had witnessed Zarkon even acknowledging Keith. Maybe Zarkon’s memory was intact because of the medicine he had to take for his dementia. “It’s nice of you two to join of tonight.” 

 

“Zarkon,” Keith resounded, his voice laced with slight ice, but not enough for it to be known in the room. “The pleasure is all ours.” 

 

“Why don’t you take a seat?” Honerva motioned, her face not visible with the black veil covering her face. Looking closely enough, Voltron Allura could see hints of a smile underneath the black colored fabric. 

 

Keith unlatched himself from her hands, moving towards a chair situated next to Lotor and pulling it out for her to sit in. Voltron Allura nodded her head in thanks, an act that Keith had enforced her to do when he was trying to teach her to be like Allura. He then sat down next to her, sitting down to her right. 

 

“How are you my dear?” Honerva asked, leaning towards her with her chin resting on her hands. Voltron Allura took a glance at Keith next to her, who had a serious expression on his face, but peering closely she could see that his eyebrows were drawn together as if he was angry. 

 

“I am doing well….Honerva.” Keith has told her that the human Allura had never called Honerva her mother and had vowed to never to refer to her as such. 

 

“Dear, I told you to call me mother! We are family after all.” There was something suspicious in her tone that made Voltron Allura speak up, to embrace the person that Keith wanted her to pretend to be. 

 

“Why did you call us here?” Voltron Allura scoffed, crossing her arms and pretending to be displeased. 

 

“How disrespectful,” Lotor muttered right next to her, glaring right at her and Voltron Allura made a point to glare right back at him. 

 

“Allura, don’t talk to your mother that way,” Zarkon spoke, his voice quiet and deep with an anger right underneath it. Now, she could tell that Zarkon was the type of man to yell at others, so she found it interesting that he wasn’t yelling at her. 

 

Voltron Allura concluded it was better not to respond to Zarkon, figuring that any more words would only anger the older man even more. 

 

Honerva patted her husband’s arm slowly, her black lace gloves covering the intricate fabric of his suit. “It’s alright my darling,” she said slowly, too slowly Voltron Allura noticed, before turning her attention back of her. “It’s come to my attention that you’re of age.” 

 

“Of age of what?” Keith asked, his eyebrows more noticeably drawing together. Of what she couldn’t tell. Was it anger? Was it suspicion? 

 

“Marrying age of course! You’re almost thirty my child and when I was your age, I was already engaged to my darling.” Her voice was husky as she spoke. 

 

“You want to marry me off?” she spoke, her eyebrow rising. 

 

“Yes, to Sendak here. Both Zarkon and I agreed that it would be good for the company to marry you off. And Sendak ” Sendak gave a grin towards her, a grin that she figured would have unsettled the human Allura. 

 

“Why marry Lotor off?” she motioned towards the man sitting next to her. “He’s older than I am yet I don’t see you pushing him to marry someone.” 

 

“Allura, my dear, you forget Lotor is already entangled with that girl….what’s her name? Ah yes, Acxa. He’s too busy right now to settle down, especially with the company doing so well and the new business that we are about to get.” 

 

Glancing over to Keith, she saw he was gritting his teeth. But then he looked over to her, and made a motion with his fingers on his lap. She could read that he was tapping things out with his fingers. 

 

Morse code, she instantly realized. 

 

‘Now,’ he tapped out, focusing on Zarkon who was sitting in front of him. 

 

Voltron Allura did a quick search about various ways to rebel, seeing videos and articles about how humans defied orders or things they were told. One of them came to her attention and from her calculations, it was quite promising. It would definitely get her point across about not wanting to be engaged. 

 

“I don’t want to be to engaged to...to him,” she pointed at Sendak as she stood up. “I have someone already.” 

 

Zarkon’s eyebrows rose up slowly as he stared at her. “What did you just say?” his voice growing louder. 

 

“I have someone already.” She did a quick scan of the building and found that there was someone outside of the room, leaning in as if they were trying to listen. Marching over to the doors, she pulled them open to reveal Lance Serrano on the other side, looking slightly guilty for eavesdropping on the conversation. 

 

Doing what she saw in the videos she searched up, she pulled him down to meet her lips. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! Sorry for the long hiatus folks! School gets really busy and then finals come pouring in and then you're like done LOL. I haven't watched the entirety of Season 8 (only the first episode) so tell me what you thought of it in the comments below! 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


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